Wild Wolf
by Phorcys
Summary: A cross over with were wolves. Ranma's life couldn't get much worse until on the training trip with his father he discovers a nasty secret.
1. Cold wind

**WILD WOLF**

**First Notes**

This is my first fanfiction I will hopefully entertain someone with it. The story is at first set during the 2nd to last year of Ranma's training trip with Genma. I have done some rearranged of facts the bigger differences will not pop up till later. So there will be OOC stuff.

This is a Ranma 1/2 cross over with the series of books by Alice Borchardt 'Night of the Wolf', The Silver Wolf' and 'The Wolf King' They are set in various periods from 30 B.C.E to 800 C.E all centred around two werewolves one a wolf who became a man the other a noble born girl who becomes a wolf.

There is also another world, which lies parallel to our own in the book within which exists mysterious powers and things. It is a great series, which is rich in detail and has a lot of historical factoids.

**Second Notes** 16 /05/05 I have spent a little time spell checking and separating paragraphs. It is a long way from perfect. I really suck at grammar and spelling.

Disclaimer -  
I don't own Ranma 1/2 that honour belongs to the great artist Rumiko Takahashi And the world of the wolves belongs to Alice Borchardt. Please don't sue me.

ENJOY!

In the distance a small flickering light can be seen fighting valiantly against the heavy storm which was assaulting the mountain ledge, it was perched upon. Surrounding the ledge was a heavy forest of pine, snow covered the ground and the tall trees nearly covered the light.

Closer to the source of light could be seen a small tent the kind millions of people swear about every time they go camping. At any moment the tent looked ready to launch itself up into the air and flee the storm.

Inside the tent the only source of light a small propane lamp, illuminates two figures closely huddled together to maintain the scant heat produced by the lamp. The fatter figure was covered in two sleeping bags and had thick wool gloves on his hands his glasses fogged up with the heat he was producing which forced him to push them down his nose to keep an eye on his son.

"You know Ranma if you had been able to get into that house we could have been out of this freezing country before winter set in. All you had to do was get past that security system. I'm sure that they must have had some thing good if they had such strong security."

Genma glared at his disobedient son who in return stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. "Pop's that wasn't just someone's house that was a high security government building, it didn't just have good security it had armed guards. And I don't know how attached you are to your skin but I have grown very attached to mine. Those guards looked like they shot first and shot again so they can't ask questions variety."

Genma scowled "Well unless we get some cash from some where we won't get back to Japan for a while" Pulling the hoods of the sleeping bags over his head so only his nose could be seen Genma laid down and told Ranma in a muffled voice

"Get some sleep. I was talking to a local this morning and he said that there are legends about these mountains holding some big treasure, of course he also said it was guarded by savage beasts. But I think you can handle that. It will be part of your training." Genma chuckled as he snuggled down in his sleeping bag.

Ranma pulled the blanket he had managed to drag from his Fathers grasp around his shoulders; which where cover in a thin red cotton t-shirt with the slogan '_Order is for Idiots, only True Genius can live in Chaos'_ in black writing. He had kept his heavy black leather boots on and had his Khaki pants tucked into them. His shoulder length hair was dark with almost metallic silver white tips and it seemed to float around his face.It keep his shoulders warmer than what the blanket was managing to keep his chest.

Ranma clasped the blanket tightly in his hands, if he wasn't observant Genma was more than ready to snatch it away.

They had been travelling through Europe on a training trip and so far they were into their ninth year.

They had passed through China, Russia and Turkey till they had reached the heart of the European continent. It was a slow process followed by fast dashes as Genma and Ranma fled from Genma induced retribution.

Ranma wondered it he could ever turn his own Father in for the reward and if so how many countries would offer food in exchange for the fat B$$$$.

For the past hour a heavy snow had replaced the rain which had been falling and no sound could be heard except Genma's snoring as both tried to sleep the cold night away. Ranma was faced with a problem for the last couple of hours he had been busting to take a leak, but he didn't want to let go of what little warmth he had managed to hoard in his blanket.

It was a desperate battle of will and he had been wondering what he could do since it started snowing. Ranma sighed and with the theory that if it happens quickly it hurts less jumped up and rushed outside the tent.

The snow was slowing to a lazy fall when Ranma poked his head out of the tent, the clouds had cleared and a moon that was nearly full shone down on the dark forest and white snow.

Carefully easing past the snow that had built up around the zippered entrance Ranma peered out over the edge of the ledge they had set there tent on into the dark pine forest below.

Suddenly he felt a large boot in the middle of his back and a quick hand grabbing his blanket. As he flew over the edge he heard his Father shout out "You snooze you lose!".

The ledge was only 20 meters above the tops of the tallest pine trees which themselves were 30 meters. This would be a long way to fall for most but with a father like Genma, Ranma had had to learn at an early age how to fall from great heights, especially when pushed.

Orientating himself quickly Ranma slowed his flight through the trees grabbing the slippery pine branches, luckily the trees were built for winter weather and no snow rested on the sharp needles.

Swinging from one branch to another the scent of pine grew until Ranma reached the ground. Under the trees the snow was not piled up close to the foot of the plants and Ranma found it to be almost warm as the wind also did not reach him here.

Screaming up towards the ledge he knew his father sat on Ranma yelled " You B#$ one day I'm going to coat you in offal and stake you out on a wolverines nest."

Grumbling to himself Ranma thought about getting back up to the tent, "Well if I get back up there, it will almost be time to start training. Anyway that tent didn't really cut much of the cold out it is warmer down here under the cover of the pine's. I wonder why Pop didn't camp down here; it wasn't like he was the one carrying the packs."

Pushing aside the lower branches of one of the pines Ranma settled into the small hollow at the base tree quickly setting up a small fire hoping the smoke would safely travel up the tree.

Ranma had learnt to carry matches and other handy tools on his person after Ganma had done the same thing to him while they were passing through Mongolia

As he settled against the foot of the tree as comfortable as he was going to get Ranma started to think about something which had been bothering him for the past month or so. It was around the time that he had convinced his father that training in Chernobyl would be a bad idea, that he had noticed his hearing and vision were becoming clearer. It had allowed him to see the branches he needed to grip to break his fall. Everything in the world around him was becoming shaper and clearer. Letting the fire die down to a small flame Ranma could hear so much of the forest around him.

The pines were rustling in the gentle breeze that was all that remained of the storm that had had only an hour ago some small animal was climbing through the branches of a tree 24 meters to Ranma's right. He could almost smell it. His senses were changing and it was freaking Ranma out, he didn't want to tell Genma what was going on he hadn't trusted the fat man since THAT training when he was ten.

The crisp air seemed to hold so many sounds in its breath. All his senses were sharper, but they really came alive at night. He had begun to enjoy the freedom that time was giving him. While Genma stumbled around falling over his own feet Ranma could see everything, he felt alive like he had never felt before.

From a far off in the distance Ranma abruptly heard a wolfs' howl joined by it's pack it drew a cold finger along Ranma's spine making him hunch his shoulders against the feeling. The sound drew a cold breath through his mind it felt as if some one was talking to him in a language he had once known but had not spoken for years the meanings were just out of his reach if he could stretch closer the words would appear.

Without a conscious though Ranma's mind could almost hear what the wolf was saying it was so close but still too far for him to reach. His mind was almost moving, he could feel the wind created by the wolves cry grow in his thoughts until all he could here was the ancient call of the wolf drawing his mind somewhere.

It was a strong male a leader who had held his place for years he knew his strengths and was sure of his place in the world. With this he could almost see the pack of wolves sitting under the almost full moon. It was so clear he could almost reach out and touch them.

"Ahhhhh!" Ranma screamed.  
The unconscious attempt to understand the call of wolves had caused Ranma to lean forward overbalancing and placing his left hand in the small fire. Hastily clutching his hand Ranma rushed outside his little burrow and shoved his had in the snow outside.

Now in the cold air he could feel the breeze stealing his warmth grasping a handful of snow making sure it wasn't the stuff he had written his name in earlier. Ranma went back into his camp and kept the snow next to his left-hand palm.

Sitting back down Ranma cursed himself for the clumsy idiot he was and stared in shock as the snow melted away and saw the burns on his palm which had just before been red and painful fade away.

Authors Note

This is my first fanfiction please be gentle.  
I have had a mental image of Ranma in the middle of a Roman fortress surrounded by wolves. I don't know why I just did. This is what I thought of. I haven't seen any fanfiction about this book series so here goes. I have planned a couple of arcs for the story it just depends on how lazy I can be. I would love some C & C it is mana from the sky. If any one is able to give valuable time to proof I would be forever grateful.  
Contact can be reached at Thankyou for reading this.

**2nd Note** I have gone back through this to check for spelling mistakes and errors but as can be seen I am not that good. This was my first fan fiction before I knew all the tricks and ways of making it easier to read. I hope I can go through the first chapters soon and fix them up.


	2. Haunting past

**Wild Wolf**

Disclaimer

I do not own Ranma 1/2 that great honour belongs to the artist and author Rumiko Takashi neither to I posses any hold on the world of the wolves by Alice Borchardt. Please don't sue me I'm small and insignificant.

Enjoy!!!!

It is a little known fact that Fate is easily tempted. A king sized block of chocolate and a cheap bottle of red wine and she's yours. As Ranma walked through the forest with the sun above him he asked himself if he could possibly lose his father for a while it would certainly solve some of his problems and keep his father from sending him on a 'training trip' into the legendary ruins he had heard about from some local in the pub. Some times he though all of Genma's training trips had been though up while he was drunk and picked up from other drunks in bars.

"Ranma" Genma barked out at him " we've reached the place that man talked about. Hah! he doesn't known what he is missing." Genma began to do a little dance. "I'm going to be rich, rich, rich' Ranma watched his father skip around some of the Pine trees and just sighed. It made him wonder if he really did share 50 of his D.N.A with him. "Pop, what do ya want me to do?" Ranma walked forward past his father so he could see the ruins that Genma had spotted.

Down in a valley sat a half destroyed stone building it was no castle, and it seemed to grow out of the rest of the forest. No pine trees were around the buildings. Ranma could see that it would have once been a large housing complex, the foundations of a large square house sat in the middle of a circle of what had probably been for farming, stables, barn. That's what Ranma assumed. Some of the outer buildings roofs had partly survived and snow sat on them, however long they had been abandoned. Looking back over his shoulder at his still dancing father Ranma sighed and resolved to never look that stupid. 'Pop, 'Ranma shouted to break into his dad's thoughts, 'Pop, what do you want me to do. It doesn't look like anything is down there. Just a whole lot of buildings that look like they haven't been used since the first world war."

Both of them now stood on the edge of a sharp incline that led into the valleythe buildings sat in.The pine forestwas directly behind them and could be seen to surround the valley below. Ranma felt something behind him and quickly sidestepped to find his father flying through the air where he had been standing. Ranma laughed and feel over" Ha, Ha Ha, not gonna happen you old fart." and laughed as his father tumbled down the mountain side until he reached the bottom in a disorganised and whimpering heap. Ranma rolled from side to side clutching his stomach. Suddenly he felt some lose turf underneath him shift and he found himself following his Father down the hillside.

After sorting himself out and making sure he hadn't lost anything from his pack Ranma pulled his father over to the stream that ran down this of the valley. He could still hear his father muttering 'rich...... rich .......rich' Ranma tossed him into what looked like the deepest part of the snow fed stream. It wasn't really that deep and it only reached up to Genma's knees. But it did wake him up.

"Arrghh!!!, you little pain why did you do that?" Genma lurched up the bank from the stream. Ranma just laughed and made sure he was out of reach of Genma by the time he was back on dry ground. "You know Pop if you hadn't of tried to push me down the mountain this wouldn't have happened." Ranma raced away from his fuming father and ran towards the ruined buildings that sat further down the valley. As he walked towards the ruins he noticed that the trees that surrounded were set in lines and seemed to be fruit trees he was walking through someone's old orchard. With the cold of winter they had all gone dormant but at one time this must have been a thriving place. Leaning into what he though was an apple tree Ranma could almost smell an autumn just passed. Taking a deep breath he could see people harvesting their fruit, closing his eyes, to him it almost could have been a warm autumn day rather than the cold winter it was. With his eyes closed he suddenly saw people appearing in the orchard the trees were alive and full of fruit. But these people didn't look right they were wearing strange clothing long tops and skirts. A man on a step stool was reaching the highest fruit and children were picking the apples closer to the ground. it was so real Ranma could have tasted the fruit they were harvesting. What was happening was so close to what had happened to him last night with the wolves. With this though and a dose of cold water Ranma was brought back from what ever dream he had visited.

"You know son, sometimes I wonder if your mother hadn't dropped you on your head when you were baby. It would explain some things." Genma had caught back up with him and had dried himself. Turning around Ranma saw the coffee tin his father had used to carry some of the cold water from the stream. "Why did you do that you blow hard, I don't want a cold when were in the middle of winter." Genma grinned "Pay Back"  
"You know if every time you did something stupid to me I got revenge you would be so dead." Genma just chucked the coffee tine at Ranma's head and pointed back towards the stream. "You need to wash yourself you smell like a week old corpse." Ranma took a breath and noticed that he did smell funky but until then it hadn't seemed bad. It almost smelled as if a small furry creature had crawled down from it's tree last night and relieved itself on his t-shirt. Genma turned towards the ruins and started walking. "I'll just go and get clean shall I in the freezing cold water." Ranma shouted at the back of his Pop's head.

Being cold and wet did not make Ranma a happy camper. he started thinking about the weird stuff that was happening to him, and how this whole valley as soon as he saw it seemed familiar. He knew what each of the ruined buildings had been for and he knew that inside the large central house was a large central fire pit. This information just appeared in his head and it was giving him a headache.

Reaching the stream he quickly pulled his shirt off and cleaned as best he could and as quickly as he could it may not be snowing but it was still cold. The t-shirt he had worn yesterday was covered in dried mud and pine sap it was a mess and he was forced to pull another from his pack. This t-shirt was green and in white writing on the front said "_If I look confused, It's because I'm thinking"._

Making his way to the ruins and his father Ranma reached them quickly and saw his Pop trying to prize up some of the large flag stones which make up the floor of the main house. He had found a length of metal pipe from some where and was attempting to lever it up. " Well boy, start looking for the treasure and don't try to hide anything from me I will know if you do." Ranma could see the scattered blocks and timber which would have once made up a large farming household, snow covered much of the lower stone blocks and almost covered in mounds what must have been once other buildings. Evergreen plants were scattered through out the ruin and Ranma doubted very much that their was any treasure in here. But to stop his Pop from doing something stupid to him he started a weak search for anything out of the ordinary.

Walking out of view of his Father he started lifting some of the rocks that were found everywhere around the ruins. It was boring work but at least it wasn't training yet.

"Nope nothing, . . .here,

Ohhh look a centipede. . . .

Wow, a really big pine cone . . . . .

Gee the fabulous treasure of an oldtin can, we're rich,"

This place was giving him the creeps he could feel something reaching under his skin and it was making his scalp itch. It couldn't be nits he had forced Pop to let him have a proper bath only a month ago. As he reached the ruins of what was the building set furtherest from the others he some how knew it was the dairy. He felt a warm breeze flow over his scalp. It made all the hair on his body stand up and he sneezed. A dead ivy plant had grown up over what remained of the frame of the door and Ranma was forced to pull it away to get into the ruin.  
Snow had only just managed to get inside the shed and he could see a long wooded bench spanning one of its walls. He had a flash of seeing some one working on a pat of butter at the bench and on the other wall sat rows of chesses. Shaking his head Ranma clutched the wall that was still standing and groaned why him, why couldn't Pop get the funny flashes of vision or better yet the funny syphilis.

Walking over to the abandoned butter churn he lifted it up and shook it upside down. "Oh look there isn't anything in here either." He then saw an object fall out of the churn small and dusty. It's probably the dried up remains of a mouse he thought as he searched the floor for what ever had fallen out. Sitting in a small drift of snow he saw it a dark patch which hadn't been there before. Reaching out for it at first he though it was just a dirty old bolt that had come from the churn but as he looked closer it had more detail.

It was coloured a dark grey but he could see a bright green glint at one end. Rubbing his thumb over it took some of the built up dirt off and caused a green stone to come to light. It sat at one end in a setting which kind of looked life a dogs head. the body was draw back into a leap and stretched for ten centimetres to its tail. On the back was a thick pin as dark as the rest of the object. It was obviously made of metal but Ranma had no idea what. Clutching the pin in his hand he knew that his father couldn't be allowed to get his hands on. While the object didn't look like it was worth much it would be one of a few objects that he thought of as his. Spitting a the corner of his t-shirt Ranma started the rub the rest of the dirt off of the pin. Heavy writing in language he couldn't understand appeared on the back underneath the pin. '_**Supermus hostises luparum'**_ the words caught his eyes and Ranma's world faded around him as he quickly blanked out.

When he woke up he was not standing in the abandoned dairy any longer it was a long hall lit by oil lamps along either side. It was a long hall pillars rose up either side and he could see rooms splitting off from the main hall. Large carpets and tapestries lined the walls showing faded scenes he could not make out. A pit was dug in the centre of the hall and a large fire was burning away. Low roman style couches ran along the centre of the hall and blankets were scattered everywhere. Cups and plates lay on the ground and on the couches. He could smell a meal had just been finished something with garlic and rosemary. The warmth of the fires was spread throughout the hall, Ranma hadn't been his warm since summer ended. It was a slice of a moment from the past Ranma realised, or he hoped otherwise he really was going mad. The room was empty at the moment but it looked as if people were at any moment about to walk in. He couldn't move or yell it was like he was a ghost and his mind was fighting the feeling that he should be here. Out of the corner of his eye he could see something moving.

A dark body low to the ground was coming towards him. With great effort he turned his neck around towards the movement. It was a large black wolf and it was looking right at him. But for some reason Ranma could not feel afraid and the only feeling he could sense was love, for some reason this wolf loved him. With that revelation the hall around Ranma began to fade away until all he could see was the eyes of the black wolf and finally they disappeared as well.

Authors Note

A Note about Latin

While my knowledge of Latin has been violently reduced since I studied I do still have my notes and I hope that what Ranma read is approximately something like 'We overcome the enemies of wolves.' As a side note lupa also means female prostitute in Latin. As this year I wilfully signed myself up for more Latin coursework I am sure there will be more in my fan fiction.

Note

The second chapter my story is yet to have the real action but don't worry I promise some fireworks in chapter three when Ranma gets a big old surprise. This has come out quickly as I have an idea in my head but it is taking a while for everything to be in place for it to happen.

I love comments they are the stuff good stories are grown on. If you want to contact me my email account is at my profile.  
If anyone is willing to give up their hard earned time, to proofread my story I would be really really grateful.  
Thanks for reading this, till next Chapter


	3. Moonlit Seranade

**Wild Wolf**

Chapter Three

Moonlit Serenade

Disclaimer  
I do not own Ranma 1/2 that great honour belongs to the artist and author Rumiko Takashi neither to I posses any hold on the world of the wolves by Alice Borchardt. Please don't sue me I'm small and insignificant.

This is has been updated quickly because A. I have too much time on my hands and B. If I don't write something I'll lose the idea. Do not expect any other updates to come out this quickly I am really a very lazy person and hate typing. Please review my story and please if I have got something out of order or have a plot hole you could drive a truck through tell me and I'll fix it.

Enjoy!!!!!!

When Ranma woke up, the first thing he saw was his father trying to rub the patina off the dog shaped pin he had found. Genma was spitting and polishing the pin as hard as he could but it remained a dirty grey. Ranma could feel a layer of wet snow between him and the hard rock. It seemed that his Pop had dragged him out of the dairy and into the yard in front of the main building, where Genma had been attempting to life up the floor slabs. From the light it looked like he had been out of it for most of the day, the shorter winter days ending fast. The sun was sinking behind the edge of the mountains surrounding the valley. The scattered clouds, which were left over by the storm of the previous night, made the sunset a blaze of reds and oranges. The colours made the trees on the cusp of the mountains look like they were alight.

Levering himself up onto his elbows Ranma winced as for some reason his head felt as if it had been hit by a mallet. But it was strange because now his senses which had previously been getting progressively more acute were even more intense it was almost overwhelming. He could hear his father mumbling to himself as he uselessly tried to clean the piece of jewellery. "Ha, treasure the guy said, I'll just have to get the boy to dig under the paving that's where thehoard always is in the stories. Good training for the boy." Ranma slowly got up from the ground and held his aching head in his hands. "Pop, do you know if we have any aspirin? I think I'm coming down with something, for a while now I haven't been feeling good." He wasn't surprised when his Dad came up with some of that wonderful logic he loved so much. "Bahh, you're not sick you just need to toughen up. A quick run will do you a world of good, just head up the valley a few kilometres and come back. You'll feel fine. I'll have some food waiting for you when you get back." Ranma just looked at his father in disbelief; there was no way the old man was going to have food waiting for him.

Giving up in disgust Genma tossed the pin to Ranma as he walked past. "Here you can keep this, it's just pot metal and glass anyway, call it your birthday present." Catching the pin out of the air Ranma quickly stuffs it into the front pocket of his pants making sure he does not see the writing again he didn't want to go on another little trip. For some reason while it was in his palm, the piece of metal seemed to radiate warmth, combined with a sense of contentment a feeling rarely visited by Ranma. Caught staring at the palm of his left hand Genma catches him on the back of the head and pushes him on his way down the valley. "Get on with it, no good waiting around. If you want some aspirin go chew on a willow tree." Getting away from Genma Ranma thinks' just because you love someone doesn't mean you particularly like them.'

Jogging down the valley Ranma followed the nearly gone track that ran through the centre. Winter had not set in completely yet and the layer of snow in the valley while covering the ground was thin in some areas and grass could be seen poking up through the ground. Glad he was wearing thick boots Ranma's feet broke through the layer of snow easily.  
The run gave Ranma time to think which surprisingly he did do. Mindless training exercises gave him a great deal of time to think about things. At the moment every spare second of his time was taken up with what had been happening to him. The weird flashes of vision the heightened senses. He hadn't talked to many other teens but he didn't think they went through this, he knew everyone went through changes but this was just strange. Maybe he really was coming down with something, or his mind could finally be breaking under the old man's 'training' trip. It was enough to make Ranma laugh out loud startling some wood pigeons, which were roosting in trees running along the track. That could be interesting, but on the other hand maybe Pop had slipped up a while back and brought some bad food. Like back in China when he got those funny mushrooms in that town. Hmmm that may explain how his Pop thought up some secret training methods.

As he got further way from the ruins the sun finally slid completely behind the mountains and the only light was the Milky Way as the moon hadn't yet risen. Ranma could still see clearly in front of him another weird factor to add to his list; he was definitely heading to a doctor's surgery when he got back to civilization. What he really wanted even though he loved fighting and training with his Pop was a break it wouldn't be turned down. Maybe a holiday, a nice beach, or even better a big screen TV and a PS2. The sound of his father had faded away long ago and the only noise that was clear was the crunch of his boots in the snow, and the regular noises found in a forest. Despite popular belief that nature is quite to Ranma it sounded like a full-blown orchestra. The nocturnal animals were waking from their sleep and foraging for food, anda slight wind blew down the valley and had the tops of trees swaying. The noise was pounding down on his already sore head.  
If this continued Ranma thought 'I'm going to buy a pair of earplugs.'

Some distance ahead of him he could see a large stone column it's top ragged but the sides appeared at one time to have been made of worked stone. Ranma picked up speed and dashed towards it. It was roughly he supposed three km from the ruinsthe stonelooked a good a place as any to turn around, if he was quick back there may be some thing edible left for him at the camp. Being forced to eat Genmas' camp cooking was not a pleasant experience; the act of opening a tine was the extent of his expertise. Ranma had been feeding himself for a while now, at least that way he got a chance to eat if he cooked it away from Genma. As he got closer to the stone Ranma could make out in thebare light of the stars faint markings worn away by time. " Contra Barbaros Pugneramus" Oh no Ranma though to himself, your not going to trick me again, no looking at strange mystic writing for him. Closing his eyes fast, he kept jogging towards the stone and congratulated himself on thinking quickly. But as has been said earlier fate is easily tempted and even with Ranma's new senses his boot caught in a root besides the stone tripping him face first into the ground.

Groaning Ranma suddenly noticed a sharp pain in his thigh, some thing was stabbing him and it hurt. Rolling onto his back he reached into the pocket on the front of his pants and carefully extracted the dog jewellery. The pin on its back had stabbed through his pants into his thigh and Ranma swore it drew blood. The script on the back caught Ranma's eye and he swore again that he was an idiot. This time the world didn't fade and as the moon rose over the Valleys Mountains it illuminated the pin. The Grey time stained metal started to shine with the light of the moon and Ranma could see that what he had thought was a dog wasn't it was a wolf. Leaping in profile its ears were laid tight to its head with a bright lime green stone for it's eye. Dropping the wolf as fast as he could and Ranma finally noticed the moonlight streaming through him as if he was a ghost. The silver weight of the light suddenly hit an extremely panicked Ranma and he was forced witha heavy thick weight down onto his knees.

What had been happening since the moon rose but he hadn't noticed because of the pain suddenly struck him. His senses were on overload, he could see and smell everything what he had experienced before was merely a whisper now it shouted and it was making his head split with the force of the feelings, his skull was being filled with noise and smells. It felt as though some one was driving a metal spike made of noise straight into his brain. On his knees Ranma clutched his head in pain and leant against the standing stone. Resting his head against the snow on the ground Ranma could not think all he could do was be overwhelmed by feeling. What next happened if he had been standing outside it was not flashy, no expensive special effects or orchestras went into it. As Ranma was forced to kneel there was a shimmer in the air a heat haze combined with the flash of a diving fish in a clear lake on a sunny day and where Ranma once sat in pain lay a young black wolf.

To Ranma the world had seemed to retreat away his senses shut down and he could breath, then it slammed back with might but now he could understand and manage it he found himself a wolf. His mind was simpler and more straightforward and it pushed the panicked part of it's thoughts into the back. Panting Ranma lay on the ground caught up in the clothes he had been wearing. Struggling to slip out of the now useless clothing Ranma started to whimper as he tried to keep a hold on his sanity. He had turned into a wolf this was not normal.  
Teenagers change when they grow up but this was a bit extreme, he didn't know what hysterical laughter sounded like coming from the mouth of a wolf but he was about to find out. Starting to panic, his heart beat faster. The part of his mind that was wolf came to the front of his thoughts it was not panicked with the change to be here,  
to it was natural and it revelled in the bright moon and crisp night air. This mind was clear of why it was hear it did not question its being or worry about what had happened it just was and knew that it was natural.

The wolf's fur was a deep thick black heavy with a winter coat and the moonlight brought up silver highlights. Around his face shaggy half-grown furgrew, a soft silver colour came up from his belly and ended at his muzzle. His tail was lying flat to the ground. He was a big wolf but still had that gangly appearance older pups have. Now he could smell everything and could identify it. A hare had a borough thirty meters up wind and the scent of the creature sat on the tongue of the wolf. A patch of winter grass had flowered the scent of the flowers flowed through the wolfs senses, He could hear the birds lying above him. A stag and his herd had passed through this valley last night after the storm; one of the does had an injured leg. The world was now painted in pictures of smell nature spread out around him and he could even catch a hint of his father down the valley rank and strong. The smell of pinesap underlaid all other scents. Quickly opening his eyes, which had been clenched, close since the moon light struck Ranma's vision picked out in black and white so many things in the world it was so clear.

The wolf wanted to be running and chasing it wanted to stretch like it had never been allowed before it wanted to see how high it could jump.It had memories of running with a pack and being part of a fast group all together for each other. Hunting and bringing down running animals. It had once been a part of a pack that looked out for each other and worked together. A feeling of pained loss hit the young male and he whimpered again. But this thought is quickly dispelled wolves do not have time for depression. The Wolf jumped to its feet and stretched with his nose to the ground and his hind feet to the sky he yipped and hopped in the air twisting into a circle. He was going to run and play tonight. The boy turned wolf raced along the overgrown track occasionally leaping into the air trying to catch the lower branches of the trees overhanging the road. The air around him told him so much about the world it was almost a book. Chasing things only he could see it was a short race to reach the side of the valley and he bounded up the hillside dodging the large pines almost skipping from side to side. Ranma had found release outside martial arts for once in his life. He had not had such fun since the last time Pop had taught him a real new technique.

With this thought Ranma forced himself to stop. Caught in mid leap his feet skid out underneath him and he tumbled for several meters the snow blew up around him in a white cloud. The wolf mind and Ranma combined and Ranma truly realised he was a wolf. This is not a dream or a hallucination like before. Ranma tried to look at himself; he had fur and a tail. "Grrrhg " and he growled. He wasn't human but the wolf in him couldn't be freaked out, for some reason it knew that this was right and it wasn't unnatural what ever had happened. While part of his thoughts were happy this had happened the other half was gibbering in a corner he couldn't think clearly it was just to confusing. Reality had impacted. Ranma had reached the top of one of the hills edging the valley.  
From this point he could see the length of it and in the distance he could see the light that had to be his father even this far he could smell the food he had cooked up on the camp fire and the wolf's stomached gurgled. Thinking of food the wolf mind brought up images of a freshly killed deer steaming in the cold air. It was all too much for the boy turned wolf and in a very therapeutic movement he threw back his head and screamed, the wolves howl spread down the valley and echoed flying far and wide. It drowned out any other noise in the head of the wolf and the only thing he could hear was his own voice. In the valley his father hunched further over the gas stove as he kept one of the ruined walls to his back. He hadn't seen any wolves since that speed, endurance training he had had the boy do Maybe Ranma needed some new exercises he would have to think on it.

In another valley several kilometres away the wolves that Ranma had heard the night before looked up from their hunt. A lone young male was in pain and confused. The leader a large grey wolf in the prime of his life was in front of the pack drew to a halt, those that followed him were few and the larger packs that lived in this alpha male's memory were long gone. The Pack had been following an injured deer that they had scented. It was winter and the food provided by this kill would be greatly appreciated. The new wolf in their land demanded investigating. The population of wolves in Europe was low, in centuries before humans had hunted them down relentlessly for killing live stock. Their publicist should have been shot. That a new wolf had appeared and was in pain could cause many problems for the hunting pack. If it were alone wolf it would find it harder to hunt and provide for itself and so in the end result in hunting penned farm animals to survive. It could raise the human's wrath. The leading male's coat shone a grey light under the moon and he indicated to the others that they were going to put off the hunt tonight. The deer was not going to travel far with an injured leg and they could come back. Discovering who had entered their territory was more important. Breaking into a land covering jog the pack set off.

Ranma pulled himself back from the edge of hysterics. The wolf in him was calming down his human part. What had happened was strange, yes but there must be a reason. Was it, a terribly bad thing to turn into a wolf their are worse things to change into and hadn't he had fun running through the snow wasn't the heightened senses useful well, as soon as he could control them. The only thing he could do with out would be the strange visions. It was a good thing Ranma was quick to adapt to new situations or Genma may have been faced with a hysterical wolf son. He would need to think on it further but Ranma was calming down and finally realising what had happened. While contemplating this, his stomach made itself known, he hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was a foregone bet that Pop hadn't kept anything for him in fact he had probably taken all the blankets for himself by now as well. For the first time Ranma noticed that he wasn't cold his thick coat was keeping theair out. It would pay the old man right if he didn't go back to camp tonight, but he needed answers to some important questions what had happened to him hadn't happened suddenly it had been building up for a while now and that pin had some thing to do with it. It may have sparked the change or was just connected but he needed answers. First food, the small furry animals of the valley were about to meet a hungry Ranma.

After a pained night Ranma was forced to stop his fruitless hunt. He had thought it would be a good idea to catch his own tea. Wolves did that all the time how hard could it be, and he was human so that made him smarter right. After getting another mouthful of snow and dirt Ranma was forced to conclude that small furry animals were smarter than they looked. Chasing two rabbits and a wood pigeon around had only increased his hunger and so far all he had had to eat was dirt. Maybe if he should try and remember how dogs he had seen hunted. Okay, first get down wind. Ranma somehow found another burrow of a rabbit, which had not been spooked by his mad chases. Stay very, very still, and then wait until the rabbit moves. His first attempt to just stick a paw down the burrow hadn't worked and he had now learnt that rabbits have a mean back kick. After half an hour a small furry nose emerged and slowly a head and than a body the rabbit cautiously hoped over to the base of a tree and started digging for anything to eat. Now this is where he had stuffed up the second time he had jumped on it as soon as it had emerged and the rabbit had jumped right back down it's hole. Rabbits 2, Ranma 0. Slowly creeping forward Ranma was a dark shadow shuffling forward on his belly. He was so hungry he could practically taste the rabbit, half of him wanted raw the other half wanted it roasted over a slow heat fire. His human half could compromise at the moment he was just that hungry and raw rabbit couldn't be that bad. Reaching the limit of what he though he could crawl Ranma stared at the cute fluffy bunny and tried to stop himself drooling. He had to very; very quite he was hunting wabbits. A strange noise broke the silence and the rabbit's head sprang up in shock. Ranma's stomach was announcing itself and could be heard by everyone. 'Oh Bugger' Ranma winced and jumped onto the rabbit or rather where the rabbit had been. The bunny was quick but not quick enough, combining Ranma's natural speed with that of a wolf he was able to take a standing jump and landed paws first on the rabbits back. The wolf took control and Ranma picked the stunned bunny up by the back of the head and gave it a quick snap breaking its neck. Another gurgle from his stomach decided Ranma and he put aside any picky feelings easily ripping in to the warm body to eat.

Ranma was feeling proud of himself he had successfully hunted, even if it was a cute fluffy bunny, those little buggers were tricky. He swore he could hear them laughing down in their burrows after that second time when he had went face first into the dirt. Ranma was lightly high stepping down the track leading through the valley the moon had crossed the sky and was soon to disappear. After an eventful night Ranma had partly at least on the surface accepted what had happened to him. Now he needed some answers about what had happened to him and the only one he could ask was Genma. Stopping in the middle of the track Ranma had a thought, 'Will I turn back, am I going to be a wolf forever? In the movies they always turn back at daylight but then in movies all the werewolves want to do is kill people. The only person I want to attack is Genma but I don't want to kill him'. Ranma didn't want to think about what Genma would taste like if he bit him.

Coming to a stop at the standing stone he had first changed at, his clothes were scattered around. Looking around Ranma searched for all them he didn't want to walk back naked. Light slowly filled the valley and the moon vanished with his t-shirt clutched between his teeth Ranma suddenly found himself naked and human, and boy was it cold. The change was quick and painless, and the noises and smells which had been driving him slowly mad were under control he could feel the wolf in his mind crawling around to settle down for the dayit peered from Ranma's eye's and kept the sensory information understandable. Acting fast, Ranma got dressed and shuddered at the clammy feeling of his wet clothes. He had spotted the wolf pin while he had been looking for them, and picked it up. Some how the moonlight of last night had cleaned the metal and what had once been a dirty grey colour was now a glossy silver. Twisting his shoulder length hair into a ponytail Ranma passed the pin through catching as much up in the clasp as possible half of itfell out and Ranma had to try it a few times before he was sure it was firm and wasn't going to fall out while he was fighting. The sliver wolf matched the silver shades in the tips of his hair and it gleamed against the deep black of the rest of it's length.

Genma had had a good night nothing had turned up to protect its supposed treasure and Ranma had disappeared. He didn't worry about the boy. It would take more than a wolf to kill him. Pushing the sleeping bags back into his pack Genma started boiling up some water for breakfast and pulled out, what said on the can were some thing called "Baked Beans' his English wasn't that good and he had been wondered what they were. Pouring the boiling water into a cup ready for tea he placed the pot back on the stove and poured the Baked Beans in they certainly looked interesting. "Ummm" Genma looked up it was Ranma wearing damp clothing and looking angry. "Pop, I've got a few questions for you."

Authors Note

I know I had promised that there was going to be action in this chapter,  
well I lied. I thought there was going to be but some how I got derailed describing the wolf change. This chapter is pretty much just an explanation of the wolf Ranma and the change.

If anyone were willing to be my pre-reader I would be really grateful

Thankyou for reviewing. Jerry Unipeg, Sonic 1, Silverscale, Innortal, taxzombie, and Deus-Ex-Machina Reviews are all good.


	4. First Encounter

_**Wild Wolf**_

Chapter Four

First Encounter

Disclaimer  
I do not own Ranma 1/2 that great honour belongs to the artist and author Rumiko Takashi neither to I posses any hold on the world of the wolves by Alice Borchardt. Please don't sue me I'm small and insignificant.

This chapter is really just a bridge to reach the next chapter so I'm sorry for the lack of action. I do know where it's going though so don't worry. What I thought I could have in one chapter has now spread into three, and it's still going.

ENJOY!!!!!!!

In a place far distant from the cold dark forest Ranma was about to confront his father in. Sat a women, she was wearing a traditional Japanese kimono and in front of her was an open lap top she was typing furiously away on. The room she sat in was a modern living room with simple prints hanging on the walls. Last night she had felt an event occur that she had been waiting for the pressure that had been building was now released. It had been pushed out of her mind years ago because if she had not it would have driven her slowly mad. The choices she had had to make, were her own, the blame for what ever happened was placed firmly on her shoulders. Soon she expected to hear the phone ring and she didn't want to answer the questions she was going to be asked, but in the end if everything came together her world would never be the same.

Sweeping some of the snow away with a boot Ranma squatted down next to the primus stove and looked hard at his father. The morning light showed the creases and dirt ingrained into Genma's cotton gi, and to Ranma's new senses he smelt interesting. Where as in the past he had only thought him to be disgusting. "Pop, Is there any thing you haven't told me about?" Genma looked puzzled "What do you mean boy, the cold must have frozen your brains." Getting up Ranma went over to his pack which was leaning against one of the ruined walls. "I'm only going to say one thing and when I get back I want answers." Picking the weighty bag up Ranma turned to face the stream and looking over his shoulder just said. "Werewolves" Genma's face suddenly turned a sickly colour and Ranma can smell the sweat as he started to tremble.

When Ranma came back he had cleaned himself up from the mess he had been in. Wearing a clean pair of cargo pants and a new t-shirt this one was a dark purple with white writing said 'I fight evil where ever it may be . . . except in dark scary places.' To be clean Ranma felt is a great experience and simple things can bring the greatest pleasure. As he came back to the camp he was surprised to see that the old man hadn't high tailed it out of there. In fact it looked like he had settled in for long talk. The old guy had sat down in front of the primus stove and was nursing the cup of tea he had been making earlier a bottle of some kind which sat next to him pointed to the fact that what he was drinking was probably well dosed with some liquor. "What are you doing old man? You don't usually get stuck into the booze this early in the morning." Leaving his pack were it had originally sat, Ranma went to check what ever Genma had been cooking on the stove, the red substance was bubbling and assuming it was food and not a science experiment Ranma carefully pulled it off the heat and started eating.

Genma broke the silence which had formed and started talking slowly at first but then gaining speed as if a dam had burst and he only had a limited time to speak. "I don't know what your talking about boy." Ranma just stares at him in disbelief. "Pop, your my father and I know I can't keep a secret from you so would you have any idea how I was able to turn into a wolf last night." Genma took a long sip of his mug and coughed as what ever back lot liquor he had put in it hit his throat. "Well, Ranma, I don't really know what your talking about, you must have been hallucinating. Yeah that's it. It was a figment of your imagination." Ranma pulled the wolf pin from where he had put it in his hair. "you wouldn't happen to have any idea what this pin is do you?" Looking up Genma is quick to see the shiny new silver and Ranma has to befast to keep it out off his reach. "No, your not getting this, you said it was a birthday present. It'll be the first one I ever got from you. So you have no idea how I could possibly turn into a wolf. Your not hiding some thing from me are you?" Tipping the last of what was in the cup down his throat, Genma licked his lips and picked up the bottle next to him pouring another shot into the mug. "Boy, have I ever lied to you?" Seeing Ranma's look , "It was a rhetorical question. I don't have any idea what your talking about. How do I know you can turn into a wolf this is just a big joke isn't it well You've been watching some old movie haven't you? Ha, ha very funny now drop it."  
"Pop, do you think you could tell the truth for once in your life, I know you know something."  
"Your imagining things son, you know I think it would be a good idea to head back into town today we need to get some supplies and ahhh stuff." Genma put down his mug and started bustling around the camp shutting off the camp stove pulling down the tent, he grabbed the tin Ranma was eating from out his hands and still half filled with food shoved it away some where. Ranma stared at his father some thing had gotten under his skin, this meant something to him. He knew about it but he wasn't talking, and why did he want them to go into town.

When Ranma reached the top of the valley wall he looked back before he followed his father into the forest. There was something in this valley it may not have held treasures but he knew he would come back. It generated a feeling in him of recognition, and here was the first time he had turned into a wolf. He didn't know if he would turn again but the wolf in his head was now their permanently a part of him and he didn't know if he would want it to leave. For besides the advantages to his senses, it was a companion and friend he had never had before, it wasn't a separate entity in itself but more another part of his mind that watched through his eyes. As he took a last look down the valley the sun had filled, it was as if a flood of light filled it covering the ground until it reached his position and flowed past him. He did not feel a thing but now below him the ruins were a thriving farm. People moved between the buildings, the fruit trees were in full flower a herd of sheep were further up the valley being led into a series of pens. From behind him he heard horses and turning followed a pack of riders race down the now well maintained road until they reached the house and came to a shuddering stop. The noises and smells created a complex picture to Ranma and he was stunned. It looked like he still had the visions. It was like a buy one get one free, become a werewolf get funny visions. The world shattered around him, as his head was driven down, Pop had sneaked up behind him again and this time had hit him around the back of the head with his pack. "We've got to get back to town now. So get your butt into gear."

The day was dark and overcast, the sky hung heavy above there heads as they trekked. Ranma just stood to the side and watched his father get more and more wound up as they set off to get back to town. It was going to take them at least another day to reach the last town they had been through and Ranma was having fun teasing the old man. "Look Pop, I did turn into a wolf last night. It's true." After repeating this for the tenth time Genma stuck his fingers in his ears and started humming. "I can't hear you, I can't hear you." Laughing Ranma hadn't had this much fun since last night. "Yup I ran around, I howled at the moon. I turned into a wolf."  
"I can't hear you, I can't hear you." Genma walked with his fingers in his ears until he fell into a snow drift because he was knocked off balance by a quick shove from Ranma. As he landed face first into the snow Genma heard Ranma start barking. "Shut up boy, you didn't turn into a wolf, it'd ruin everything." Watching Pop get up out of the snow and head back down the track Ranma wondered what that had meant.

While they were walking Ranma tested how much of his senses he had under control. Whereas before the world had been spinning around him a kaleidoscope of new sounds and smells the wolf could know identify and file away what was happening. It was as if he was collecting them. His sense of smell astounded him with his eyes closed he could almost see where the dormant fruit trees were. Hearing the sound of a rabbit leaving it's borough not twenty meters away Ranma smiled his hearing was now kept under control it was not as extensive as it had been but it could, if he focused hear specific events and not be drowned out by the worlds sounds. As his father was walking by, Ranma tried to see if he was stronger then before but that had not changed. After a few false starts he practices some katas away from his father using his new senses to orientate himself. It was not going to happen over night but he would become use to the change. It could work to his advantage.

Even with increased physical power, Ranma had still been awake now for over 36 hours. He needed to rest. While he walked he closed his eyes and remembered the feeling of the chase, of hunting and jumping , curse you fluffy wabbits. The events of the past night finally caught up with an exhausted Ranma and as he was walking the adrenalin in his system dried up. He may be a powerful martial artist and werewolf but he was still a teenage boy , and they tend to sleep a lot. When the afternoon was closing Ranma was only just keeping his eyes open and the false energy he had had from teasing his old man had gone. After walking into a pine tree for the third time. The next time they passed a clearing Ranma just dumped his pack and sat down. " That's it I'm not going any further, I need to sleep, I haven't had a proper sleep in days I need to rest we can get into town tomorrow morning give it a rest." "Boy, your not tired we can get at least another 10 km before we settle for the night." Ranma started pulling his camping things out of his pack and putting the tent up. "No way, I'm going to get some sleep, we can start early in the morning, Okay." Not bothering to get out of his boots Ranma crashed on his sleeping space and zones out his fathers mutterings. "this is not good,. . . this wasn't meant to happen."

The sun was quickly setting in the winter sky, when Genma woke Ranma up and gestured him over to him, "You know boy, You may be making up some pretty silly stories but that doesn't mean I don't love ya.". Ranma is worried his father isn't usually this sane sounding. Pulling Ranma into a hug Genma wrapped his arms around the boy and squeezed. "Look on the bright side, When we get into town you can have a hot shower and a cooked meal." Ranma is surprised Pop very rarely showed sighs of affection and after the outburst during the day he expected him to be angry. Returning the hug Ranma suddenly felt his fathers arm come up over his head and pull. With out his knowing it his father had slipped a leather belt around his neck. Ranma pulled back from his Pop, twisting the slip knot only pulled it tighter choking him. Coughing Ranma was supported by the belt as he slid down onto his knees his weight forcing his father to grunt. "I'm sorry boy, but your to dangerous to just leave out at night. I know your just got an over active imagination . But we can't have you running around the middle of nowhere thing your a wolf, remember the Cat Fist " Gasping for air, Ranma choked out "Pop, why are you doing this? I'm not a danger to any one." Genma shrugged "it took me weeks before I could train you after the Cat Fist this way I can't lose track of you " Trying to tear himself away from Genma didn't work the belt was thick and when he tried to rip if off, Genma kept him on the ground by ramming a knee into the middle of his back. "I'm doing this for your own good boy, Once you see you don't turn into a wolf you'll be perfectly fine. It's all in your mind boy."

Tied to a tree close to the camp site Ranma; his hands were tied together with another rope attached to his feet, watched the last of the day light fade from the valley. He could feel the moon it called to him but the false freedom he had had the night before was gone. Genma had something in mind for him and what ever it was Ranma didn't think he was going to enjoy it. Moving around the camp stove, Genma had recovered the composure he had lost after talking to Ranma and tying him up. He knew the only way he had caught Ranma was because of surprise the boy was nearly as strong as him, he had trained him well. Luckily he had had some of that rope he had made up the last time he had had to tie him up. All these ideas of being a werewolf were just some little story, if he stayed here beside him Ranma was sure to realise this. If he did turn into a wolf though. he had phone calls to make and The same villager who had told him about these ruins had also mentioned the problem they had had lately with wolves, saying that a wolf dead or alive could bring in at least 500 euros to the right people. It doesn't take much to see into Genma's mind and guess his plans for Ranma at least for the short term.

Watching his father move around their camp, Ranma felt the moonlight reach him it was the same as the night before the silver light flooded his body and before you could blink where Ranma had once sat a wolf was chocking. The ropes around his wrists and ankles fell away from the smaller limbs of the wolf but the belt was set higher and at an awkward angle. It twisted his neck up and he started coughing it was rubbing and he could barely breath. The wolf could smell the world just beyond his reach if he stretched he could reach it. Pulling on the rope that tied him to the tree, caused him to cough louder. Genma was standing next to the tent stunned he didn't think this would actually happen. The boy, had turned into a wolf, this wasn't good. He had had plans, Genma's mind ticked over and you could see a new plan forming in his mind. There were phone calls he needed to make when they reached town.

Calming down Ranma tried to ease the belt around his neck but it was tight. His paws could not reach under it and fighting it made him cough. A half baked plan emerged from his mind it was stupid and probably wouldn't work but the wolf could not stand to be tied up like this. It remembered the hunting runs with pack and wanted to be out in the snow. Ranma started to cough louder, easing back on the collar he chocked and jerked his head. Working on this he made sure he was loud and Genma noticed. 'Putting down the can he had been about to open for his tea, he went over to his wolf son. "Boy, boy, stop that it isn't that tight. you probably can't even understand me." Playing dead Ranma slowly stopped struggling and hung from the rope, he held his breath and hoped that his father would try to save him. Genma moved in quick, his investment. . . I mean son couldn't die. Putting a shoulder under Ranma Genma lifted the lifeless body up and eased the belt from around his neck the wolf looked unconscious Genma reached for the ropes he had used to tie the human Ranma and went to shift them around the wolves limbs. Suddenly he found himself pushed backwards by a moving Ranma the wolf was up and gone before he could react. A streak of darkness in the moonlit night, Ranma speed away he had to get as far away from his Pop as he could while he was in wolf form. He may be faster then Genma as he was but Genma was still an experienced martial artist and he still didn't know exactly what was happening.

The only thought in Ranma's head was to get as far away from Genma as possible he couldn't believe the old man had done that. he knew he hadn't believed him but to tie him up, he should have remembered what Pop was capable of and how some how his mind come up with the strangest ideas from no where. Reaching a fallen tree that was half rotten and had formed a natural hollow Ranma stoped and rested he could hear that Genma had not tried to catch up with him. The old man knew he would have to go back to him. All his things were there his passport, clothes, and when he had changed the pin had been left behind. Now that it was silver again there was no doubt Pop would try to sell it. He was going to have to go back but not as a wolf when he was a human and better able to face him when he could keep an eye on him. While the moon was full he was going to have to stay the hell away from his father. There had to be answers to his questions some where, he was so tired of things happening to him and having people know about him without him knowing what was going on. Who was he? Who was his mother? And why had he turned into a wolf?

That night Ranma tried to capture the joy he had experienced from the night before but while he submerged his human thoughts and tried to get as far away from his father as he could there was a voice in the back of his head telling him that no matter what he was going to have to head back to camp. Shaking off his depression Ranma attempted to hunt again this time the score was unfortunately by the end of the night rabbits 4, squirrels 3 and Ranma 0. Game set and match to the small furry animals. There was something to hunting as a wolf that he just couldn't find yet, his body knew what it was meant to do but at the worst moment his mind would but in and he would stuff it up. Catching this moment of freedom the wolf ran through the pine trees knowing that this would end. This truth made it harder to stop when he saw the night finally closing.

A valley over the pack; which had rested during the day, were about to reach the area they had tracked the young wolf to. This was their territory and the wolves had to protect it from others. The pack under the full moon was made up of five members. The leader was a strong grey with a thick ruff. His shoulders were massive and he topped at 1.3 meters, standing on his hind legs he would be taller than a full grown man. Following him was a shinning silver huntress similar in size to her mate she glowed silver under the moon. A large female wolf followed them she was huge being bigger than the leader. Keeping behind the leader was a male of a colour that was brown almost shading to red. At the rear was a skinny grey male who would as they ran some times chases the others and run around them bursting out of a pile of snow as they ran past. When they finally reached the valley some recognised it they had been here before along time ago.

The leader could smell the young wolf, two other scents laced the air, a young human male and an older man. This bore further investigation. keeping to a ledge that ran along one side of the valley the wolf was now in they stayed away from the place of men, and reached the spot above where the young wolf was resting.

Deep in thought Ranma was not paying attention to the world, while the wolf senses catalogued what was going on around him his brain was going around and around in circles. His dad had tied him up, he had turned into a wolf, and he was hungry. The wind changed direction and with it, it brought a new scent to the nose of Ranma. Other wolves, Ranma was unsure of what to do the night was ending he would soon be a naked human in the middle of a forest. It was too cold to go bare arsed around here. Sitting up Ranma turned back towards his father's camp.

The wolves above him came down the mountain side and passed through the forest that lay on the side of the young wolf. They stopped before they passed out of the cover of the trees and watched Ranma as he passed them. Ranma could sense some thing was near he had smelt the scent of the wolves but didn't know where they were. In front of him a great grey wolf appeared out of the forest several wolves followed after him but Ranma only had eyes for the largest male. Coming to a halt the clouds which had been threatening overhead all night released there weight of snow and a light shower feel around the wolves.

Ranma was stumped this was obviously a leader, the wolf told him to show respect but the human part still had a voice saying that this was a wolf and not a human. Ranma compromised and just sat still in the middle of the track. The sun he could feel was going to rise in only a few minutes he needed to get away from these wolves he didn't know what they were going to do if he changed shape in front of him and he didn't really want to find if he could fight off five adult wolves. The snow started falling deeper as Ranma began backing away, the larger Grey male growled and Ranma stopped. A wolf broke the tension, the smaller thinner male who had been at the back of the group bounded forward and reached Ranma he playfully nipped at him and then feel back, he did this several times before Ranma realised he wanted to play. Ranma was confused were they here to attack him or they wanted to play. It really didn't matter he had to go. The leader sat still watching his pack mate play. Ranma couldn't put it off he had to leave turning in circle Ranma put his speed to the test and ran along the forest as fast as he could surprising the watching wolves, who quickly sprung up to follow. Ranma attempted to out pace them and managed to get out side of their line of sight when he felt the change and he found himself caught naked in the middle of a snow storm chased by wolves. Really could his day get any better.

The moons weight lifted from Ranma's mind and the wolf was telling him he needed to get out of the snow or freeze. The wolves chased him, smelling his scent on the air. Then it was gone, what had been a young male wolf was now a young male human. If these had been normal wolves this would be dismissed there lives had no time for questioning reality. But these were not normal wolves and they all knew what this meant to them.. Halting the chase the leader stopped something passed through them all. Dawns light was grey and little passed onto the ground through the clouds and snow. Finding the sheltered fallen tree it was big enough for them all to sit underneath. A shift in the sir and were there had been five wolves now sat five freezing humans. "It's bloody cold, Why did we have to change?" The reddish brown wolf asked, "we don't need to talk." The leader who had been grey hugged the one who had been the silver. "That was one of us, you know this. We need to find out more about who he is it is not the same now as it was in the past we can not ignore the world."  
"So what we just walk up to their camp, because you know he's with a human, as wolves, or better yet walk up as we are and say 'Hi, I'm a Lycanthrope ask me how.'" The one who had been the skinny grey was jumping up and down in one place his energy could not be contained "He looked like fun, I want to play with him". The leader sighed, "There is no way we can just walk up to them as we are now, we need to get back to our camp. If you," the leader pointed to the hyperactive grey, "follow him, you can get into contact with us when they get back to town because that could be the only thing they are heading towards. Remember reverse charges when you ring." The silver wolf who had been silent spoke up. "You be careful and don't do anything silly." The other female patted the one who had been the grey. "That one hadn't learnt how to control the change yet, he was still controlled by the moon. He is young and this may have been his first time." With out another word the group almost as one changed back into wolves, the wind and snow were covering their path behind them. The hyperactive grey headed after the boy and the rest followed the leader. As they left the big grey turned to look in the direction he knew this new wolf now was. and thought, 'so this was why Matrona had told them to go for a run around their old home'.

Authors Note

I'm not really happy with this chapter but it has what I wanted happening and the next chapter should have action. I promise Thankyou reviewers, Please keep reading and reviewing if you have an idea for a match up I would really like to hear about it. I know about the other two books by Alice Borchardt, and have read them but I don't have copies of them and have forgotten a lot of what happened in them so I have stuck to the first three.


	5. Strange Meetings

**_Wild Wolf_**

Chapter Five

Strange Meetings

Before any one starts reading this I say this now, I have checked it to the best of my abilities for errors. I don't have a pre-reader yet so my grammar is still in need of help.Please if anyone wants to become my pre-reader I would be really really grateful and you would make a lot of readers happy.

And the Music Plays On!

For the past hour Ranma and Genma had been passing through the outer houses of the town. These scattered homes were small farmsand the only sign that some familieslived in them were cars in their driveways and smoke from their chimneys. It had taken a further five-hour trek through the forest before they had reached a road that led them into the sleeping town. That morning after reaching Genma and the camp in the snowstorm, Ranma had made sure not to go near him, and kept an eye out for any stupid manoeuvres. He had already missed being drugged when he made up a cup of tea and the sugar had sleeping pills crushed into it.

It had taken concentration to find the road again and Ranma's quite thoughts were only occasionally broken by Genma's lack of inner monologue. For some reason he had started singing, 'rich ...rich ..rich" again this was not soothing any worries of Ranma's mind. Something else was also bothering him, he could swear that they were being followed every few kilometres he would see a figure at the corner of his eye but it would be gone before he turned. His senses would give him brief flashes of someone, but it was like they knew he could tell they were there.

Moving further into the centre of the town the architecture changed, from more modern brick homes, through to when they reached the centre of town and found the town square surrounded by a mix of late medieval wood and whitewashed plaster homes. These leaned into the square and tall stone 18th century buildings that stood straight and imposing next to the smaller older buildings. Snow in the square, which was a dirty brown, was pushed up in to piles. The town wasn't dead of life they saw people hurrying back and forth across the square and a few cars could be seen on the roads. But it was a small town and there could have only been two of three thousand people living in it.

Ranma was not amazed when Genma was able to find a cheap bar just off the square willing to let them stay if Ranma would work out the back washing dishes and cleaning tables. Genma went off once he had set up the job, Ranma tried to follow him for the first block but some how the old man managed to lose him. Standing behind what must have been the accumulated dirty dishes of a year Ranma wondered if you laid every dish he had ever washed to feed his Pop end to end would it reach the moon. Wearing a white apron and pink rubber gloves to protect himself, it covered his new t-shirt and black cargo pants. Today his t-shirt said " _When in doubt empty the magazine_". In his hair he still wore the wolf pin. The owner of the bar was a surprisingly cleanly man, tall and thin he didn't look like he should own a bar he looked more like an accountant. Every few minutes he would come back and tell Ranma in what he assumed was the local language to work harder. Or this is what Ranma assumed he was saying. Once this was finished the owner had him sweep and vacuum the entire bar then clean out the bathrooms. Ranma knew though that no matter what work the guy gave him, it would not be worth what ever his father managed to swindle out of the bar owner.

When Genma turned up back at the bar late that afternoon. Ranma was worried; it never paid to leave Genma to himself that was when he got into the most trouble. A small crowd was already inside and the barman was serving drinks. Genma was trying very hard to keep a large smile from splitting his face open. This meant trouble, he swore that Genma got the same look on his face last time a plan of his backfired and they had been forced to leave a town in the dead of night to escape an angry crowd. "Son, what are you doing?" Ranma carefully sidestepped the hand Genma was just bringing down to slap him on the back missing the hypodermic needle held in it.  
"What no hug for you're loving Pop?"  
"No"  
Picking up a heavy crate that was filled with clean glasses Ranma started stacking them. "Don't be like that me old mate, my little buddy. Here to make up for all that misunderstanding from yesterday I thought I should get you some thing to say how sorry I am." Sitting on Genma's palm was a block of dark chocolate covered by a sliver wrapper. "I know how much you love the stuff and I thought well nothings good enough for my boy." Ranma isn't stupid but it was chocolate.  
"Thanks Pop, but why don't you have a piece first while I'm finishing cleaning up this." Grabbing a damp cloth he began rubbing down the bar. "You know I don't think I really feel like chocolate at the moment. I was thinking you've been working really hard lately as well as all that uummm trouble I thought we could go out for tea. You just need a tie." Pulling a cord from a pocket Genma tried to pull it around Ranma's neck. "Pop, your not going to get me tied up, I don't know what you've got planned but I'm not going to go along with it. I just want you to answer some of my questions."  
"Boy, I don't know what you're talking about; I just want to be nice to my favourite son is that too hard to believe?" Snorting Ranma dropped the wet cloth into a bucket. "Pop, I'm not going to dignify that with an answer." Picking up the bucket Ranma went around the bar and walked towards the bar's bathrooms. "Look I got your tea sitting right here a growingmartial artistneeds to keep up his strength."

After dumping the bucket in the guys bathroom Ranma walked over to the meals Genma had produced from the Bar's kitchen. Boiled vegetables and extremely well done chops his sense of smell unfortunately told everything he needed to know about the meal and what he didn't want to know. Pulling up a chair at the table Genma had placed the plateson Ranma picked up a knife then pointed behind him "Hey, isn't that Mum" Genma spun in his seat and ducked under the table, getting up he missed Ranma swapping their plates. "Wait a moment how would, . . . ahhh your just trying to trick me boy." Picking up his utensils Genma watched Ranma get stuck in picking clean the well-done chops in seconds. Ranma had his head down and was almost finished when he noticed his father hadn't been fighting him of food looking up at Genma Ranma started to notice the room sway and he felt dizzy. "You drugged the food, but I swapped the plates." The wolf was becoming frantic Ranma had eaten so fast the drugged meal was completely consumed before he could tell "Yip, boy but I drugged both, I knew you weren't going to fall for a simple drugged meal." It felt like a heavy blanket covered Ranma's head when he fell face first onto his empty plate, the last thing he heard was his father reassuring him that he shouldn't worry and that he had everything under control.

The world that surrounded Ranma was splintered; the noise around him swept from piercing to mute filling his mind with static. He knew his eyes were open but the world fell in and out of his focus. When the world drifted close he found he was tied up, futile struggling against the ropes made his mind fall back into unconsciousness. As his senses stoped spinning the next time he could focus he found he had been bundled into an all-covering material. He saw his father through a gap taking money from some tall stocky man with greasy grey hair, saying something about horse tranquillisers, the wolf didn't like the man he smelled of bad death. These short snatches of vision came and went for he didn't know how long.

As the mist faded from his mind for a final time Ranma could feel the wolf in his mind watching. The moon had risen. Some one had taken the ropes off the legs of the wolf, but he was still covered by what ever had been wrapped around him. Struggling he managed to free his head; still weak from what ever Genma had feed him, he could feel the body of the wolf getting rid of the drug at an accelerated rate. When he could see again he found himself in a small cage, as he tried to stand up on his four foot he could not it was to small. His tail was pushed against the back and wrapped around the wall of the chain link cage almost touched his head. The front of the cage was pressed hard against his nose. The wolf was panicking it could feel death and pain radiating off the walls of the room the cage sat in. A grey cement covered the ground it smelled of the suffering of others, stains marred the floor and Ranma didn't want to think about what the wolf was telling him the stains were made by. In another room Ranma could hear the baying of dogs, and humans cheering. His father was a . . . . . . .

The pin that held the door of the cage shut was firm and no matter how hard Ranma tried to jam it open he could not. A scream from the crown out side the room echoed and Ranma really wished he could turn back into a human, what ever the old man had gotten him involved in now he really didn't want to know. The door into the room was slammed open, he could smell the fear and excitement pour into the room and it made him push himself further back into the tiny cage. It was the man he thought he had seen his father talking to when he had been drugged. With him was another man with his arms and chest warped in layers of padding. In one hand he helda dog catcher pole. "Right, the guy who sold it too us said that it had been feed enough horse tranquillisers to knock out an elephant but I took a look at it earlier,and it should be coming around now." Carefully nudging the pin of the cage up, the man covered in padding just grunted. "This better be a good fight, Harrison's brought his Rottweiler with him and it hasn't been taken down. This boy cost us 500 euros it should be able to rip its throat out, I don't want to waste my money"  
Ranma snapped and wrenched his head away from the hoop of cord at the end of the pole, but the cage was too small for him to manoeuvre and he couldn't get away. The cord slipped around his throat and was pulled tight by the man in padding. Snarling and fighting the pull he was jerked out on to the cement and was choked as he was led through the door and into an ill-lit warehouse. Twisting, Ranma saw a large number of mostly men surrounding a verytall fenced area. He could hear and smell a number of dogs that were all driven insane or scared beyond comprehension. It was a dog-fbaiting pit. The old bastard had sold him to a dog-fighting pit.

Dragged across the concrete floor of the warehouse the men surrounding the pen started chanting." Wolf, Wolf, Wolf, Wolf" The building was half torn down one side of a wall was completely gone and no electricity ran through it every thing was lit by portable lights. Ranma could feel the excitement and rage that surrounded the pit. He could not escape as he was now tied up the cord was tight around his neck and it wouldn't come off. As they neared the fence he could see a line of dogs tied up along one wall all separate so they didn't attack each other, he couldn't believe people would do this to another living creature it was disgusting. The wolf was howling inside some one had tied it up again it wanted to be free and it's instincts told it to fight and bite. Dragged into the pit, the padded man stepped out quickly and released the cord. Twisting around Ranma snapped and stared at the men around the cage. Barking drowned out the men's bet making as a mad Rottweiler was led into the pit it's handler quickly jumping out and releasing him. The dog immediately set at Ranma's throat and he was forced to jump away snapping at the dog's face with a natural reaction. The crowd cheered and stamped their feet at the back of the crowd Ranma swore he could see his father. No matter what happened he was getting out of this cage andgetting revenge on hisPop.

The wolf shouted for survival but he didn't want to kill the dog, but if he could not leave this pit he feared what the men would do if they did not kill each other. Keeping out of reach of the insane dog's jaws Ranma tried to think of a way out of the cage. He didn't know how high he could jump as a wolf but he had a feeling he would need a run up to manage the hight of the fence and no one was opening a gate until he or the Rottweiler was dead. Slamming hard into the wall of the pit the chain link fence shook with the force maybe that was the way inspiration spurned Ranma on a he deliberately slammed into the fence shaking it, he kept doing this leading the Rottweiler to follow him. He was a gleaming black force in the fighting pit. The force of his hits was extremely powerful and the metal of the fence, which would stand up to normal dogs', blows bent. The Rottweiler snapped at Ranma's muzzel missing by a breath. Catching the Rottweiler by the back of the neck Ranma fought the urge to bite down and end it he need to escape and one more hit would do it. Flinging the dog away from him Ranma ran headfirst at the fence and climbed it with his claws his weight being the final straw that broke the weakening metal. With a groan the audience who had been cheering shrieked and was forced backwards, several of the tall lights were pushed over in the rush and darkness fell. Heading for the open wall Ranma heard the Rottweiler attack anyone that was near it screams began to echo from the warehouse as Ranma fled the scene.

Racing through from the warehouse, he fled. No one from the pit followed they were all too worried about saving their own skins. Ranma's mind was spilling over with thoughts; his father had sold him to a dog-fighting pit. He really shouldn't have been surprised the old man had done worse before and probably would again.He just didn't think his actions through fully and unrealistic plans had landed them in trouble before. Leaving Ranma to bail the old man out. It was lightly snowing and Ranma had no idea where he was. The warehouse had been in the small industrial section of town and he ran through car yards and workshops before he reached another group of scattered houses this time they were all well back from the road behind tall imposing fences. Next time he saw his father he was going to get answers and the old man wasn't going to put him off with stupid excuses. To the wolf the sickening smell of the pit was slowly being removed from it's mind.

A gentle unknown floweryscent reached his nose as he was passing in front of another tall fence this once made of red brick. From inside the fence Ranma could hear someone talking a female voice, and the scent he couldn't place grew stronger. Taking a running leap Ranma flew over the wall, landing lightly on the other side Ranma could feel a force pulling on him drawing him further into the garden. Everything was in straight rows, it was a winter garden, filled with sleeping plants and evergreens, and snow covered the ground. The silver light of the moon made everything seem like it was etched in silver. At the centre there was a marble arbour covered in dead ivy, the brown and grey plants clinging to the soft grey shell. Following his nose Ranma reached the pillars of the arbour and peeked inside. A woman was sitting on a low stone bench inside her dark hair fell on either side of her face reaching her knees. Though she was wearing a lose cotton dress Ranma did not think she was cold. Ranma bit his tongue, he was really here this shouldn't be a hallucination. The women looked up and Ranma saw a piece of paper sitting in her lap, slip and fall on the ground. Looking up he finally saw the women's face and sighed it was not a purely physically beautiful face, it had obviously seen too many hard years for that but it looked like the face of some one who had seen many happy times and those were what she held in her heart not the sad moments. To Ranma she seemed to represent an image he had always held in his heart of what his mother looked like, she would love him and care for him no matter what. A sound circled around the small structure floating into Ranma's mind.

Diuitas alius fuluo sibi congerat auro  
et teneat culti iugera magna soli,  
quem labor assidum uicino terreat hoste,  
Martia cui somnos classica pulsa fugent:  
me mea paupertas uitae traducat inerti  
dum meus assiduo luceat igne focus.

For all of us that can't speak Latin:

Wealth let others gather for themselves in yellow gold  
and occupy great acres of cultivated land -  
scared on active service, in contact with the enemy  
their sleep put to flight by the blare of trumpet calls  
But let my general poverty transfer me to inaction  
so long as fire glows always in my hearth.

-_ Tibullus Elegies Book One: Chapter One_

A strange breeze was again flowing through his thoughts he had understood thatvoice andat the same time it had been in a strange language, this garden was real he was here but it also wasn't real. Stepping up the short step into the arbour Ranma wished he was human, this woman radiated comfort and he was so tired. Quietly Ranma moved under the cover of the arbour and slowly approached the women he wished so much he that he could crawl up in her lap and rest. Reaching a point only a few meters away, the women turned and faced himher pale grey eyes piercing him. "What are you doing here boy?" ""Who are you?" Ranma looked down he was human and wearing some sort of long grey tunic and leather boots. "I'm human but how."  
:"Your not human boy, now what are you doing in my garden?"  
"Would you believe I've just come to stop and smell the roses? and stopped to listen to your beautiful poetry."  
"No, this is my garden I don't get many visitors here. You will be the first in a very long time. The only people that find my garden have problems." Gazing at the motherly figure Ranma sighs and picks at the material of what ever he was now wearing. "Well, I found out I can turn into a wolf and I don't know how my father sold me to a fighting pit and I think someone's following me. That's just all the recent stuff." Shifting over on the marble bench the women pats a hand down and gestures for Ranma to sit down. "My names' Nenia I was just reading in my garden, and who are you?" Ranma looks hard at the ground; "I'm Ranma Saotome, Heir to the Saotome School of Indiscriminate grappling and part time wolf." "Yes I saw that, you know I haven't seen another of your kind in what must but many years."  
"You've seen others like me?"  
"Oh yes there have never been very many and time has not been their friend but their are other with your gift." Looking hard into the women's eyes, Ranma watches, "What do you know about them...I mean us?" Reaching down and picking the piece of paper she had lost back on to her lap, Nenia smiled "What would I get in return for this information?" "Would you take my undying gratitude?"  
"Maybe, but not tonight, I haven't seen a lily of the valley for a very long time if you get me a lily then I will say we are even."

"So what do you know about us?" Folding the paper up the women starts to pass it through her fingers. "I wouldn't call myself an expert but when you have been around for as long as I have you see things. Those that can change into wolves have been around for a very long time. Why they change has never been really explained. But it is not a disease or an accident it passes through a family. Those couples who are both wolves find it very difficult nearly impossible to have children together most are born of one who is a wolf and the other is a human. You really need to talk to your family they will know about this. The wolf gives you so many things, your senses are sharper, stronger, and you age much slower. There are legends that are told of one woman who predates the fall of Troy, but that is just a story. Those who are wolves keep the real knowledge and if you really wish to learn of your nature you must find them." Reaching a hand behind his head to scratch his neck Ranma notices a weight on the back of his neck it is the wolf pin. Pulling it out of his hair Ranma hands it to Nenia "I found this in some ruins in the mountains it's strange but it seems familiar." Turning it over in her hands Nenia sighs; "this is a piece of jewellery, which once belonged to a group who lived up in the mountains along time ago they were mercenaries. And farmers. You can see their motto on the back 'Supermus hostises luparum' We overcome the enemies of wolves. A very fierce group but they have been gone from here for many many years. I know little else about your kind you need to find another to help you my dear. If you just remember that lily I will be very happy. Now let me return to my reading."

This woman had just told him in twenty minutes more than his father ever had about what was happening. "Do you know if I can turn into a wolf when it's not a full moon and can I turn back?" Looking up from the paper on her lap Nenia smiles. "Oh yes, you can change when the wolf wants but the moon will always be a strong pull you just need time and patience to learn more about yourself." Ranma stood up, and looked down at Nenia, "thankyou for telling me this I don't know who you are but I will not forget this if you ever need help just ask me." Placing the wolf pin back in his hair Ranma slowly walked out of the Arbour into the garden but Nenia called him back held her lap was a thick red blanket. "That pin was not meant for holding hair it was made to hold up a mantle, here." Handing the length of cloth to Ranma she stood up and fixed the length around Ranma's neck "there it will help in the cold. Now you come back with my lily I'll be waiting."

Once again Ranma walked out of the arbour into the light snow the moon was still gilding the sleeping plants silver, but now he did not turn into a wolf. The urge was almost overwhelming he wanted to change to be free,but he could see that it could be delayed. On the true full moon he would have to change but at other times he now had the choice. The snow settled on the wool mantle he was now wearing. The snow crunched under his bear feet the clothes he had worn in the arbour were gone all that covered him was the cloth Nenia gave him. A voice kept telling him to turn around and take another look in the arbour but another voice was telling him not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Reason won out for now and Ranma walked back over to the fence surrounding the garden and leaped over making sure to keep a hold of the mantle that was wrapped around him. A sound, almost a gasp came from bushes that lined the base of the wall Ranma continued to walk down the pavement along the road. As if he had noticed nothing. The presence that had been following him since the camp last night was behind him in the bushes. The click of canine claws on a hard surface began and Ranma kept walking. With a depth breath he could tell it was a wolf, but he had heard a noise only produced by a human throat. Slowing down, Ranma bent over as if too pick something off the ground, spinning around Ranma sprung around and dashed towards the wolf figure hiding in the plants beside the road. Throwing leaves and bushes to the side Ranma was able to grasp a back leg and quickly filliped what ever he had over on to it's back. Placing a hand under the quivering grey wolf's throat Ranma placed his head close to the wolf's ear. "Who are you?"

Authors Note

If you have reached this far I would like to thank everyone who writes a review.  
Thankyou Wonderbee31, Locke1, Jerry Unipeg, and Innortal.  
Suggestions for match ups are welcomed.  
Thanks Names for those characters I create are all Latin words picked at random from my Latin dictionary because I thought they fit the character this week Nenia, the other worldly woman's name means funeral dirge.  
Please review.  
A chapter for Spirit Hunter my other story will be coming up in a day or so, I promise.


	6. Daddy Dearest

**_Wild Wolf_**

Chapter Six

**Daddy dearest**

Disclaimer  
I do not own Ranma 1/2 that great honour belongs to the artist and author Rumiko Takashi neither to I posses any hold on the world of the wolves by Alice Borchardt. Please don't sue me I'm small and insignificant.

Warning: low level swearing

Enjoy!

"To me a wicked man who is also eloquent  
Seems the most guilty of them all.  
He'll cut your throat  
As bold as brass, because he knows he can dress up murder  
In handsome words. . . "

-Medea Euripides, dating 460 B.C.E approx

Snow was settling on Ranma's deep red mantle as he pressed down on the throat of the wolf that he believed to have been following since last night. "Who are you?" Ranma added a little more pressure with each word. The wolf squirmed and whined. "What is a wolf doing in the middle of a town just where I happened to be. There is no such thing as coincidence." Ranma could swear the wolf looked guilty for a second then started to pant and bark. As if to say I'm not a wolf just a really big puppy, Aren't I cute. "Who are you? I am quite happy to sit here until morning." The wolf stoped barking, and just looked up at Ranma. "I don't know if you'll turn into a human or a hippo I don't care. Who are you?" A shiver in the air flashed over the wolf underneath Ranma and he found himself with an arm underneath the throat of a human man with short ash blonde hair. The man had a thin tanned face and green eyes that didn't stop moving they followed Ranma then traced a snowflake. "Hi"

"Umm, my Japanese isn't that good but I was wondering if I could change back it's you know cold?" Ranma jumped back startled. "Yeah, but first why were you following me?" The man who had been a wolf shivered and smiled "well, someone told me too." Ranma stared at the man "I have said this before but who are you?" Putting a finger to his jaw the man looks up at Ranma "Ohh, did I forget my name's Aver, and I'm cold." Pulling his own mantle tighter around him Ranma spoke. "We need to talk but not here. Can you follow me I think I know a place where we can get out of the cold?" Rubbing his hands up and down his arms the skinny man shivered again. "Good idea I don't want to lose any of outer extremities." With that Aver shivered and turned back into a thin grey wolf. Ranma stared at the wolf.

Looking at the red cloth he now wore he wondered how he could keep it with him. It reminded him of the garden and the motherly figure of Nenia. If he changed would it disappear. Taking it off Ranma felt the snow settle on his back and folded the robe into a small package with the pin firm attached. Turning inwards Ranma looked for the wolf the part of him that was always the wolf, it was slumbering on the edge of conscious with a thought Ranma brought it forward and he was a wolf once again but the red mantle had disappeared. Turning in a quick circle Ranma could not see it. Turning back he found himself again dressed in the cloth. After changing several times Ranma discovered that the mantle changed with him and would always remain on his form. Finally staying a wolf Ranma felt sure that when he changed back the robe and pin would be with him. This was another gift from Nenia

Ranma traced his way back through the town. Making sure he would be able to return to Nenia's garden so he could bring her, her flower. What did a 'lily of valley' look like? The edge of a false dawn was piercing the night and the town was waking up. Sleep deprivation was again making itself know to Ranma as the last time he had managed to sleep was for a short nap before Pop had tried to tie him up the first time. Becoming a wolf flushed some of the weariness from his system but the combination of everything that had been happening for the past three days was weighing down on his body and mind. With effort Ranma was able to find his way back to the main square with it's medieval houses. From there he could find his way to the bar. It had been shut for a few hours by the time Ranma turned up with Aver tagging along behind. Peering through back window Ranma could not see his pack or his father who was going to sleep in the kitchen. Maybe the old man had run for it when he had escaped, maybe he thought he had gone to far for once. Ranma thought about that then shook his head nah his father's ego could move mountains.

Wrapping a bandage around his bloody calf Genma scowled. The plan had been perfect, it had in one form or another worked for them before. He could see right now his wolf some being led out into the fighting pen. All the boy needed to have done was kill one dog; he would have rescued him from the pit owners before the morning when he turned back. Ranma gad entered into fighting comps before him turning into a wolf, nothing should have changed. Looking out at the park that surrounded him Genma scratched the itchy bandage. If all those idiots hadn't off panicked he wouldn't have been bitten by that Rottweiler. In the end it was all that damn boys fault that this had happened. Genma huddled in his blankets, he had been kicked out of the bar Ranma had worked at all day because he had come back fro the dog fight bloody, then proceeded to drink the bar out of liquor. Ranma's transformation only partly worried Ranma as long as the boy was still human most of the time it truly did not matter to him. Just as long as the body did what he said. There was only one thing he was truly dreading, sooner rather than later he was going to have to ring his wife.

Turning back into a human as he hid at the back of the bar, he motioned to Aver to change. "Look, I thought my old man would be here so I could get some clothes and kick his arse." Aver was huddling up next to the wall. "Your Dad, I saw what he did, I was watching and I think he's an idiot, but if you want track him down I think I can find him for you." Ranma thought about this did he really want to find his Pop again. What he had done to him was terrible and it wasn't like it was the first time the old man had done something stupid and he had been the one paying for it. "We really need to talk and the only place I know where we can grab some clothes without shocking anyone is from my pop. He is a bastard I know that. But you can't turn your back on family just like that. I'm going leave him for a while, even if he knows where my mother is or what I am." "Okay, that's great but I'm cold so lets go."

Following Aver across the square, the early morning traffic of town was beginning. Bakers, and milkmen, trash collectors and street cleaners, were passing through town in the early morning light. These men and women stopped to watch the two wolves one black and silver the other thin and grey race through the streets passing quickly past them. Reaching a residential park Ranma could now smell the scent Aver had been able to follow it was the ripe and fetid smell of his father. In a corner of the park underneath a tall pine tree, Ranma could see the sleeping form of his Pop. Quickly reaching him, Ranma turned back into a human and spotted his pack. Moving quietly Ranma collected his things and changed into some clothes he carefully stored the mantle in a pocket of his pack and placed the pin back in his hair. Lifting Gemma's pack Ranma searched the pockets until he found the stash of money, papers and their passports Grabbing the money, which was probablywhat Genma made selling him into the fighting pit. Papers and his passport Ranma chucked the bag on to the ground. Telling Aver to stay a wolf Ranma crept over to his father and placed a booted foot at his neck.

"Wake up old man, I've got a surprise for you." Ranma ground his boot down on his father's neck. Gasping Genma woke. "What in hell are you doing boy." Grabbing Ranma's foot Genma pushed upwards and flipped Ranma over, landing on his feet, Ranma gestured to Aver sitting to the side. "Pop, have I ever thanked you for the hell you have made my life. You have made my childhood a joy to live for the past nine years and I don't know how I could ever thank you. This is a new friend of mine Aver. We have something's to talk about. At the moment I know that even with my improved abilities I could not beat you. So what I'm going to do is train and practice until I am the Greatest Martial Artist ever just like you wanted. Then I'm going to find you and have the great pleasure of kicking your arse." Struggling out of his sleeping bags Genma stood up. "Boy, I am your father and I have only done what ever I do for your own well being." Ranma snorted "Right you know that somehow I don't really believe you anymore. You have lied and you have stolen what rights do you hold over me." Genma scowled "I am your father, I will always be your father, no matter what you do you only have one father and that's me." Rushing forward at Ranma Genma reached out and was stopped when a pressure on his waist. Glancing down, Genma saw the wolf Aver grasping the back of his gi. It didn't look happy. Growling Aver tugged on the material. "Call your dog off." Ranma smiled "He's not a dog. I have already said his name is Aver. Now I'm going to leave and don't try following us." Walking backwards Ranma kept an eye on Genma till he was out of sight then turned around and waited, five minutes later Aver trotted around the corner with a scrap of white cloth stuck in his mouth.

Walking into an alleyway Ranma pulled out a shirt this one saying 'All true Wisdom is found on t-shirts." pants and a pair of his training shoes. 'Here get changed." Where the wolf Aver had sat the man stood. Picking out the piece of material he had stuck between his teeth. "Your Dad tastes terrible by the way; thanks you know it would be so much easier if our clothes changed with us. Like that cloak you got, but those are pretty rare. Nothing's as big of a conversation stopper as seeing a naked man steal your washing." Ranma grinned and hoped he would never have to resort to that. "There has got to be a place open now, a cafe or something we can stop there and you can finally talk to me." Aver tucked his shirt into his pants, "Do you mind if I make a call there are some people I know that will be really interested to see you. Getting something to eat sounds good to. You know following you wasn't the easiest thing to do." Ranma shrugged his bag back on his back. "Fine, let's talk while we find somewhere to stop. This is kind of weird but I should be used to it by now. So you're a werewolf." Aver grinned and started jumping the gutter going off and on the pavement. "Yip, I have been for Oh lets see, it must be 360 no I tell I lie 365 years." Putting a finger to his chin Aver looks up into the sky, "You know how some human women don't like telling their age well image it 100 times worse for were's." Coming to the small town centre Ranma spotted a bakery opening, "Yeah okay, look I'll ask them if they'll let us use their phone and get us something to eat." Walking in Ranma had a short talk to the girl serving behind the counter. Aver was staring into the glass cases of the bakery that had just been filled with freshly baked bread, cakes, and buns. "Do you think I could have a chocolate muffin, and a pie, and a cinnamon donut, and a fruit twist and, a . . ." "Wait wait, do you want all that."  
"Well I haven't had the chance to grab something to eat since the other night."  
"You know I think the last time I ate something that wasn't drugged has been a while as well. If you make your phone call I'll buy us some breakfast."

Walking out of the bakery Ranma and Aver's mouths were stuffed full with fresh baked goods. Ranma had a cup of coffee in one hand and was sipping it between bites. "So, how did you find me?"  
"Do you remember that pack of wolves you ran into a couple of days ago that was me well us? We had been out hunting and we heard you. You sounded very depressed. Then we followed and caught up with you. I got told to follow you and then call when we got to town." Ranma pushed half a donut into his mouth licking his fingers free of sugar. "So, who are you?" "I said, I'm Aver. I like donuts. Who are you?" Ranma pulled another donut out of the paper bakery bag. "I'm Ranma Saotome, and I was on a training trip with my Pop, but that plan's gone to hell. I have no idea what I'm going to do now. At some point I'm going to have to go back to Pop and question him properly he may be a bastard but like he said he is my father I'm going to have to deal with his sooner or later." "You know I saw that wolf baiting that your Dad sold you too, he sucks as a father figure. I know some people that if you want will make him disappear." Aver stuffed the last of a meat pie into his mouth and sprayed crumbs everywhere when he smiled. "If you don't know being a were wolf is passed down through the family, usually. If your Dad isn't one then it must be your Mum. I'm surprised she hasn't talked to you already about this." Ranma sighed and sipped his coffee. "Well the old man and I haven't been home in nine years and I haven't seen my mother since I was five. If she is the one I get this from then I need to get a hold of her." Aver picked a sausage roll out of the bakery bag. "There aren't that many of us in the world we probably already know her or of her." Ranma crumpled the paper cup in his fist and chucked it into a public rubbish bin. "Who were you calling?" Aver turned the bakery bag inside out and tried to lick the last crumbs of food out. "Oh, I just got a hold of my Pack they had to head back to our campsite and left me to follow you. I just got our leader on his mobile they had just got back when I called. He really wants to meet you. They have to drive to this town and should be here by noon. You know that in the old days it would take, well days to get anywhere. The internal combustion engine got to love it." Aver grinned at Ranma and turned around. "You know I'm still kind of hungry do you think we could get something more to eat?"

Authors Note:

Just a note on the changes to Ranma becaue of his change, the only noticeble difference would be the extreme senses hearing, vision, smell touch, the strength and speed would be very similar to what he had before he was human.

Reviwers thanks

WonderBee31, Innortal: I can just see cologne trying to tempt him with a doggy treat to be her son in law, or evil fleas, Hmm an idea for another story, Jerry Unipeg, Lord of the Pit, and Bob The Mercenary: I would love to beat up Genma but there are so many other fanfics that do that, I'm saving the Genma beating till later.

This is just short chapter but the next should be much longer

This was meant to happen last chapter but it didn't. It was also meant to come out a couple of days ago but my computer decided to freeze before I could save. I swear they do that deliberately. So this chapter is short and sweet but next week Ranma will finally meet the wolf pack and we will discover the plot. There is going to be an actual plot I swear.  
Thankyou very very much for reviewing.


	7. Debt Paid

**Wild Wolf**

_Chapter Seven_

Debts Paid

Disclaimer  
I do not own Ranma 1/2 that great honour belongs to Rumiko Takashi neither do I posses any hold on the world of the wolves by Alice Borchardt. Please don't sue me I'm small insignificant and taste of cheese.

Enjoy!

". . .God moves in extremely mysterious, not to say, circuitous ways. God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an infallible game of his own devising, which my be compared by the perspective of the other players, i.e everyone else, to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker, in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a dealer who won't tell you the rules, and smiles all the time. "

Good Omens -Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Standing at her kitchen bench the women can see into her small backyard. She was going to have to start weeding again the Shepard's purse was coming up. Wearing a plain kimono she wore a long white apron over the front and she looked the very picture of a contented housewife. Almost thoughtlessly she was cutting through a variety of vegetables. Already there was a large pile collected in a very big pot on her stove. She had plans on making up a great deal of soup to freeze later. A trussed and seasoned chicken was boiling in another smaller potter sitting on her stove making the kitchen smell delicious. In another room a phone started to ring. After a few rings an answering machine picked up the call. The women's voice could be heard. "Hello I can not come to the phone right now, please leave a message." Not paying any attention to the machine the women began to scrap the vegetables she had cut into the large pot. Suddenly she caught a voice she had not heard for a very long time. "I hate these machines. I haven't seen you in long, long time and I think you've been keeping secrets from me. There is some one here with me that I think you will be very interested in meeting." The voice hung up on their end and the only noise in the house was the sound of a pot boiling and cut vegetables falling onto the floor.

Ranma had been dragged all through the small town. Aver after he had finished the second six pack of cinnamon donuts ran them around town chasing in and out of the stores. Running back and forth, Ranma cursed buying the wolf any sugar laden baked goods. By the early afternoon, when the others were scheduled to arrive from there campsite. Ranma was leaning against a bronze statue that sat at the end of a little side street. The statue was of the generic sort you always find somewhere, it showed a soldier from anywhere in the last hundred years with a gun resting at his feet. What Ranma thought were names in the local language were etched in the marble base. Fading plastic flowers were propped up at the front. Sucking on a milkshake Aver had talked him into buying, he wondered where he got the energy,Aver had probably been awake for as long as him and he didn't think he was able to hold a serious conversation without falling asleep halfway through were as Aver was still bouncing off the walls. At the moment he had climbed the statue and was sitting on it's head drinking his milkshake.

"Do you think the guys you called are going to be here soon.?" Harry leant a foot against his pack which was sitting at the foot of the statue. "Sure, they said they would turn up in the square after lunch. I think your going to like them. They are different but I think that it will be good that you can talk with them. When I said yesterday I was 365 years old. I wasn't lying but next to me these guys make me look like a preschooler." Sucking on his milkshake Aver sighed as the cold milk and ice cream hit his throat. "Ahhh, I love technology. No matter how much people whine about how good the past was and how much better it was lets see them deal with open air sewers, and no anaesthetic. And like it's the little things as well. Real good milk chocolate hasn't been around for more than a hundred years." The cup gurgled as Ranma sucked the last of his milkshake down." Hey, did you see a flower shop while you were dragging me around town?"  
"Man, I don't think they are expecting flowers and chocolates when they turn up. I'm pretty sure they won't care. Just don't you know be impolite." Picking up his pack Ranma nodded down the alley the statue was in back towards the square. "Look I promised someone that I would get her some thing and I don't want to break a promise. So before your friends turn up I just want to get it."  
"Okay, okay, no need to get touchy I'm sure that the place on the other side of the square will have something I saw it when I had a look in that electronics shop. Did you see that T.V pity it had European power plugs?"

Following Aver across the busy square Ranma found the flower store. A large glass window was framed by a heavy thick, wooden frame that looked like railway sleepers. In elegant gold writing the name of the store in the native language was written. Walking through the door a bell sounded above his head and a worried looking man who had been peering at a selection of roses looked up at him. Inside Ranma was greeted to a setting he had rarely if ever seen before. Fresh flowers filled the store and bunches of dried plants hung from rafters in the roof and rested a meter above Ranma's head. The strong scent of the new and dried flowers almost overpowered a tired Ranma and as he walked in he tok a step back and braced himself. Aver tapped him on the shoulder. "I probably should have told you to expect that but it's been so long since I had to worry about new senses I forgot." Ranma dragged a hand over his face, the weight of the fragrances was putting a serious strain on his ability to stay aware. Further into the shop balloons and stuffed animals sat on a shelf. Keeping his eyes on the counter that sat at the back of the store Ranma pushed his way through only stopping once to drag Aver away from the stuffed toys. "Ooohhhh, but I always wanted a stuffed pig, it was so cute, please. I'll look after it and I'll feed it and it won't make a mess. " Ranma just keep a hand on the back of Aver;'s t-shirt and got him away from the toys. A young girl with short green hair was sitting behind the counter, reading a magazine when Ranma arrived in front of her he tapped on the glass topped counter to get her attention. As she looked up Ranma was forced to shake Aver who was still complaining about not getting a pig. "I would have called it snuffles."

"Excuse me I wanted to get a bunch of 'lily of the Valley'?" He got a confused look in response. He had spoken in Japanese of course she wouldn't understand . Aver had stopped grumbling and Ranma shoved forward. "Do you think you can get her to understand me?" Aver pulled his t-shirt back into shape. "Well I don't know I'll help but only if I get to have the pig."  
"Fine, fine, you can have the pig just help me get a bunch of 'Lily of the Valley." Grinning Aver stood up the counter and the confused shop assistant. "Excuse me my friend would like to buy a bunch of 'Lily Of The Valley." With a relieved look on her face, the shop assistant answered.  
" You are lucky, this lily it blooms in spring, but we had a wedding this weekend and the bride wanted it as part of the table setting. We have some left over. It's in the back I just go get it." Watching the girl go behind a curtained door, Aver started questioning Ranma about who was getting the flower. When the girl came back out it was too see Ranma trying to stuff Aver's t-shirt down his throat. "Excuse me sir here is your flower, is there anything else.?" Aver pulled the cloth out of his mouth and smiled "Yes, I wantthat pig."

Walking out of the store Ranma took a look at the flower that Nenia wanted. It was so simple. The girl had wrapped them in green and gold cellophane and the little white bell shaped flowers stood out like pearls. The flowers were so small and delicate, the girl had told them the Latin name was Convallaria. it was a very big name for such small flowers. Ranma led Aver back through the town running he didn't want to be late meeting Aver's friends. Aver on the other hand was beside him as he ran with a soft pink toy pig under one arm.

When he reached the wall from the night before, all of his and Aver's foot prints were long gone covered by the last snow fall. Following the wall for as far as it extended to the next house he couldnot find a gate. Telling Aver to wait for him Ranma carefully kept one hand around his flowers and jumped over the fence.  
Last night the garden had looked ethereal in the silver light of the moon. The sleeping plants coated with silver. gravel paths led in straight lines and small bushes hedged the paths. Today in the sun light everything was overgrow. The plants looked more dead than asleep and there was no order no paths. He had know there was something other about Nenia, she had been something else, a ghost maybe. Large trees blocked off the rest of the grounds. Walking carefully through the overgrown garden Ranma went towards what must have once been a structure. it had long ago crumbled in on it's self, broken chucks of stone were settled in a small circle. it had been completely covered in dead ivy. "Hello" the sound of his hesitant shout only made a couple of birds that had been feeding in a different part of the garden fly off. No one was here, or for that matter had been here for a very long time. Gently he placed the cellophane wrapped lilies on the ivy wrapped stone. "Umm Thankyou Nenia, I hope I will meet you again. Here's your flowers. They're really pretty. Ahh, I'll just go now " Ranma waved a hand in a vague wave and turned back to the face the wall. Suddenly the garden was alive again as if it were mid summer and not winter, he could hear bees and smell the flowers. Did he really want to turn around? Slowly turning the world went back to the winter garden. shaking his head Ranma started walking back to the wall. As he reached it he suddenly heard a voice it was Nenia.

Ipse seram teneras marturo tempore  
uites rusticus et facili grandia poma manu,  
nec Spes destirua, sed frugrum semper  
aceruos praetbat et pleno pinguia musta lacu;  
nam ueneror seu stipes habet desertus in agris  
seu uetus in triuio florida seryta lapis ,  
et quodcumque mihi pomum nouus educat annus  
libatum agricolam ponitur ante deum.

Again for those of us that can't speak Latin:

Early in the season I should set the tender vines.  
and the tall maidens with a peasant's practiced hand.  
Hope would never fail me but deliver  
an abundance of produce brimming over the vat at vintage time.  
For I pray at every solitary tree stump in the fields.  
or old stone at the cross-roads that is garland with flowers;  
and the first of every fruit the new season raises for me  
is offered at the feet of the farmer god.

_Tibullus: Elegies Book One, Chapter One, Verse Two_

Ranma was sure there was a hidden message in that, but it eluded him. He just knew that his ignorance would be coming back to bite him. On the other side of the fence Ranma collected Aver who had been throwing the stuffed pig up in the air and threatening not to catch it. "What are you doing?"  
"Oh it has to learn who's boss" Ranma just shook his head and headed back tot he town square.

The late afternoon sun was only half illuminating the square. Shadows had crept forward and covered half of the cobblestone area. People were still moving backwards and forwards, and cars were passing through it regularly. Leaning against a closed chemist's window Ranma looked about the square trying to spot Aver's friends. Sleep was hitting him hard, and the tiredness he had been putting off barely with adrenalin was jumping up and down on his conscious. Delivering the flower to Nenia had been a last straw on Ranma's energy level. He hoped that these people would let him sleep before they talked because he didn't know what use he would be if he didn't get some sleep soon. A large black Rang-rover drove into the square passing slowly through the centre it settled into a park in a place set to the side of some of the stalls that were in the centre. Aver had stopped playing with his new toy and grabbed a hold of Ranma's hand. "It's them, come on your going to love them . Well maybe not all of them but some of them are fun. Ranma's sight of the range-rover was broken of as he was dragged unceremoniously over to the parked vehicle. "Look could you just slow down," He didn't know what sort of impression he was going to make but he was pretty sure it wasn't gong to be good. Besides not having a sleep in days he hadn't got a chance to bath either. He felt like death warmed up. The t-shirt he was wearing at the moment told people in bright orange letters on a dark purple back ground. " _I'm not Schizophrenic! You Just think we are." _As Aver pulled him around the corner of the market stalls to stand in front of the park car, all of it's windows were opaque dark glass . Ranma ran a hand through his silver and black hair and felt it settle back. Waving a hand in front of him Ranma smiled hesitantly "Hi"

The drivers side door opened with the click and a man stepped out. Powerfully built he was a little over six foot His face gave a seeming of sternness but the deep laugh lines his mouth and around the eyes crows feet showed a kind face sure and strong. Hair was thick and coarse it curled freely around neck and forehead but was roughly cut short Wearing a thick green woollen coat a black t-shirt could be seen underneath it and his legs were clad in dark blue jeans. Sleek black sunglasses hid his eyes. Aver, ran up to the man who looked to be in his early thirties. Hey, this is the kid. I found him like you said. He's a cool kid, a little bit tense but cool. Do you like my pig?" Aver held out the stuffed porcine toy. The man smiled at Aver "It's a cute pig, Regeana will love it."  
"What will I love?" A women stood out of the front passenger side and leaned against the door looking at the two men. The women looked like she was in her early twenties, with long dark almost grey black hair the silver tips shinning in the winter sunlight. The hair reached her thighs and was tied loosely back in a braid. A tight blood red skivve hugged her lithe figure, and pair of tan cargo pants sat low on her waist. "Aver, that's the cutest thing were did you get it?" the women exclaimed when she spotted the soft toy. Grinning Aver tossed the toy over to the women who cuddled it and chucked it back. "Teresa is going to love it" Smiling the women turned to face Ranma "Hello, I'm Regeana and who are you?"

Standing on the back foot, Ranma bit his bottom lip. "Sorry I can't understand you"  
"Oh sorry he only speaks Japanese." Aver exclaimed. Regeana spoke again this time in accent less Japanese. "I'm sorry for that , I'm Regeana, this is my partner, Maeniel. Who are you?"  
"I'm Ranma Saotome, Heir to the Saotome School of Indiscriminate Grappling and part time wolf." The man who first stood out of the car who was called Maeniel, "Now I think the part of that sentence that we are interested in is part time wolf." Walking to the front of the vehicle Maeniel and Regeana leaned and sat on the hood. "My friends and I were passing through the area when we happened to hear something we thought was very interesting and when we followed the trail it ended at you. I really think that we all need to sit down and have a talk. I'm sure you want to ask us some questions and we certainly have some questions for you." Regeana lightly struck her partners arm. "Leave him be can't you see how tired the boy is. He looks like he has been to helland back. The first thing I think he needs is a bath and a rest. Aver can go over and get us a hot drink Ranma can just sit down here and rest." Ranma smiled "Thankyou with everything that has been happening to me lately I don't know where my head is. But first I don't mean to be impolite but, your not going to try and sell me to a wolf baiting pit, drug me, chuck me in any holes, tie me up or make me steal anything because A I'm too tired and B I too tired." Regeana looked down at the sitting Ranma. "Why would you think we would do that?" Ranma yawned "Well my Pop, he's a bit of a bastard and he tends to be a little insane. I just want to know what is happening to me the changing and the ghosts. If I wasn't so tired I swear I would have had heart attack by now." Maeniel answered. "Your father sounds like a 'special' person. Where is he now?" Ranma's eyes were slowly creeping down "Ummm last time I saw him he had the arse ripped out of his pants and I was walking away. He looked silly." Ranma could only see a slit of light through his nearly closed eyes. "You knowwe turn into a wolves, we are not evil. It is a natural thing not a disease it cannot be passed like a virus or a bacteria you inherit or a given it. We have lived for centuries and expect to live for just as long, We keep an eye on each of us. But you boy, I have not heard of. **No one** has heard of you." Maeniel stoped when Regeana placed a hand on his sleeve. "Shhh, be quite the kids fallen asleep." The sunlight fell on a finally resting Ranma illuminating the silver in his hair giving the martial artist an otherworldly air.

In an office building in another country not far from the stunned women, a man sat at an impressive desk. With his back to a wall to floor window he possessed a panoramic view of the city behind him. But he wasn't looking out of his window all of his attention was focused on the man standing in front of him. Holding a black leather folder in front of his waist, the man was wearing an expensive sharply cut dark blue business suit. "Sir, we have information about the subject." Pulling the papers the man had just placed on his desk towards him. The sitting man read through the information. "Do you know where the subject is?"  
"We, have received knowledge through the listening device on subject A's phone."  
"You are sure subject A does not know of the device."  
"We are sure that subject A has no idea of the equipment me have in her house."  
"As I always tell you patience is always rewarded. Do we know where subject B is?" The standing man coughed "Not, exactly sir. The call was too short to be traced but it did indicate that they would ring again and we will be waiting."  
"That is good, you may leave make sure to have subject A under 24 hour cover." The man left drawing the two 8 foot tall wood doors that barred the room shut. Finally after nine years there had been a sign. Leaning back in his large leather chair the leather creaked and the man smiled a smile that is usually only seen on low sandbanks in warm rivers and with many more teeth, "No one steals from me."

Authors Note  
Please Review pretty please, they are like sugar for my brain  
Thankyou for reviewing

Malichite, Jerru Unipeg, Darkepyon, Law-kun, Sliverscale.  
Innortal, Ranma is going to be cursed. It is part of what makes Ranm1/2 so much fun to read and write about. There will be no splitting I'm sorry. Neither will there be a cure anytime soon.  
The description of Maeniel has been paraphrased roughly from The Silver Wolf p351-2 he and Regeana are from the books. Aver, Nenia, and later Teresa are all mine.  
Take a look at my little song-fic _Roof Sitting_, and tell me if it means I have seen too much Monty Python.

Next week a bit more of the mysterious nameless people and when Ranma wakes up a proper talk about the wolves and what the hell Ranma is going to do now he has dumped his Pop.


	8. Explanations

**Wild Wolf**

_Chapter Eight_

**Explanations**

Disclaimer

I do not own Ranma 1/2 that great honour belongs to Rumiko Takashi neither to I posses any hold on the world of the wolves by Alice Borchardt. Please don't sue me I'm small and insignificant and taste of cheese.

"It may help human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people."

-_Good Omens_, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Enjoy!

From a distance Ranma could hear a women singing. "When the red, red robin goes bob, bob, bobing, along." The voice was coming from somewhere to his left and was slowly moving around. But he couldn't see anything, a heavy weight was holding down his legs and his chest. It was warm and comfortable he didn't want to move. A rare occurrence, maybe if he didn't move or open his eyes he could stay like this for ever . The heavy fur blanket that held down his chest moved and Ranma sighed at the warmth. He was so comfy. Wait a moment Ranma's brain finally kicked in, the blanket moved. Clinging to the soft comfy world he was currently inhabiting Ranma slowly eased his eyes open. A soft light from a bedside lamp, shone on a small bedroom. The walls were painted a warm yellow and light blue curtains were pulled over a large window to his right. To his left he could see out of the corner of his eye someone moving around a bedside cupboard. Taking a shallow breath Ranma tilted his head down and looked at the single bed he was lying on. There was a heavy feather doona covering his legs, moving up a large grey wolf was sprawled out over the doona onto this chest, the wolf it was snoring and clutching a small pink stuffed pig between it's front paws. Ranma sighed and pushed his head back into the pillow. 'Oh, it hadn't been a dream. When had anything that happened to him just been a bad nightmare.'

The women who had been moving around to his left, stoped singing and noticed Ranma's waking. "So, your awake at last." Ranma eased himself up carefully not moving the sleeping wolf which he thought looked like Aver. The women was wearing a tight red t-shirt and jeans, her silver kissed hair was out and pushed behind her ears. "Yeah, your Regeana aren't you.?"  
"Yes, and you have been asleep for 18 hours we tried to wake you up but after the third time you punched Aver we just let you sleep."  
"Thanks I haven't really had time to rest for a long time. Where am I?"  
"Oh, we brought you home with us. Now don't worry, we're not going to cut out a kidney and leave you in a tub of ice."  
"What?" "Don't worry about it. We put you in a guest room and let you sleep that seemed to be the most important thing at the time. We have been waiting to ask you some questions."  
"Well I have some questions for you. Where's my stuff?"  
"I hope you don't mind but I had to go through it and get you dirty washing. It starting to move by itself. I was just putting the clean laundry here by your pack." Regeana points down to Ranma's pack which is lying on the carpet by the bed.  
"Before the interrogation." At a worried look from Ranma Regeana laughed, "Don't worry there won't be any electrodes. I really think you need to get something to eat. Aver there was coming down from a sugar rush when you fell asleep. If that's all you've had to eat in the last couple of days you better eat something. Teresa prepared a great feast for when you woke up but everyone ate it before now. But there are some excellent leftovers in our kitchen so don't worry."  
Ranma tried to ease his legs out from Aver's wolf form. "Don't worry about Aver, his head's made of wood." Regeana placed a foot on the wolfs back and pushed the sleeping Aver on to the floor. Still sleeping the wolf rolled out and kept snoring the stuffed pig frimly grasped between his paws. "He crashed after we drove you both back here." Ranma checked to make sure he was wearing something under the blanket then eased his legs out of the bed. "Where is here?"  
"Oh sorry didn't I say this is our place. It was bout ten hours away from that town you were in. We had been there hunting. It's nice to relax sometimes." Pointing to a door beside her Regeana said, "This is the bathroom, not to be too polite but you stink. You really need a shower and there is a plastic bag for you to put your clothes in after. I'll see you in a little while." Walking out of the only other door in the room Regeana left Ranma to enjoy a shower.

When he got out of the bathroom and into some clean clothes, this time a pair of jean and a dark blue t-shirt with white writing saying "_Red meat isn't bad for you, On the other hand fuzzy green meat is_." Aver was gone from the floor, and Ranma slowly followedhis pathout of the room, picking up the red mantle and silver wolf pin as he left, it may help him discover what the hell was going on. The room opened onto the end of a short corridor, which had four doors on his right and left. The door opposite him at he other end of the corridor was open and Ranma could hear talking and smell food. Following his nose, Ranma with his head in the air walked down the corridor and through the door.

The door opened out into a warehouse sized room. Great blackened wooden beams hung above Ranma's head as he entered almost being lifted off the ground by his nose. Heavy tapestries hung along the walls, two large triangular windows set in either end of the hall lit up the room. A large screen television which had to be at least five meter tall was surrounded by couches, pillows and beanbags at one end at the other was a large wooden door with two huge swinging halves with giant metal hinges held it in place. Along the walls, two fires sat on either side, surrounded in heavy slate paving, bright fires burned in both. The television at the end of the hall was on and Ranma wad distracted from his hunt for food. He walked towards the T.V the martial artist could see some ones head over the back of the large blue couch that sat in front of it. As he passed in front of a large 2 meter square hanging tapestry the image captured upon it caught his eye. It was a complex scene telling a story. On one side a dark green forest picked out in threads of emerald and jade covered a mountain. A midnight sky sat over it picked out in what Ranma though might be silver thread were stars, a moon hung over the forest in white and silver. Emerging from the edge of the forest a pack of wolves stood, a large grey held a position in front of the other wolves. Facing this image was a human town. But not of today. It was old a water mill feed by a stream, and old houses no telephone poles or roads. From the town a steady grey smoke seemed to be emerging pushing against the silver sky. Above these scenes around the border was written '_Habitamus, Amoamus, Pugamus_.' A/N We Live, We Love, We Fight.' In between the two forces children were playing, both humans and wolf cubs, they sat in a field hundreds of flowers filled it. Ranma looked closely he thought he could see one of the humans pulling a wolf cubs tail and the cub smiling. After a minute Ranma pulled himself away from the picture the kids looked like they were having so much fun.

Coming up to the back of the sofa Ranma tried to creep but was stopped when the person spoke. "You know people always seem to forget 'Wolf ears'. Aver does it too. You can't sneak up on us." The person turned away from their TV show which to Ranma looked like an episode of Spooks. He had caught an episode of the English crime show when him and the old man had been passing through England last year. The person who turned to face Ranma looked old to him in his forties at least. Deep creases surrounded his mouth and eyes and his skin was tanned a deep brown. Sharp blue eyes looked into Ranma's and he seemed to be picking out problems he would complain about later. Long shaggy brownish red hair fell down the man's face to his shoulders. "Ahh your the new kid that Aver picked up. You know I keep telling them they shouldn't brings pets home. " Ranma smiled he was pretty sure the old man had insulted him but at the moment he was too hungry and curious to bother maybe later he would teach this man what it meant to insult Ranma Saotome.  
"I am sorry I do not know good English."  
Speaking in a slightly louder and slower voice but still in English the man shifted in his seat and looked up at Ranma. "My Name's Hlio. Everyone's expecting you in the kitchen. Just go through that door." He gestured to a door to the side of the large sound system beside the television.  
Ranma kept smiling he had understood, "Thankyou Hlio." The man turned back around to watch his television show and ignored Ranma.

Opening the door he was controlled by the smells of food again and he was once again led by his nose out into the room. On the other side of the door, was a large kitchen industrial size he could see Cinderella working here. A long wooden table ran the length of the room. At one end opposite the door the room opened out into to sun room which during the summer months must be filled with light, but though it wasn't snowing as it had been where he had come from it was not a bright and shinning day. Large industrial cookers lined one side of the kitchen and a white trough like sink took up a lot of room. From the ceiling meatal frames held heavy copper pots and pans. Along side there were bunches of dried herbs hanging over the table. A window ran along the wall opposite the door, and through it Ranma could see a long grassed area running off to a gradual forest. But the most important thing to Ranma at the moment were the intense smells of food emerging from one of the giant kitchen's ovens. Distracted by this he didn't notice two people emerge from the conservatory. "Hello Ranma, I'm glad to see you awake." It was Regeana she had left Ranma's room to join Maeneil who had been enjoying a quite breakfast before he knew hell would break loose. "I can see your hungry I placed some food Teresa cooked earlier in the oven behind you, watch out the plates are hot." Ranma as fast as he could which is pretty damn fast pulled a tea towel that had been sitting on top of the oven over his right hand and pulled several plates out. Plates, of bacon, and eggs, fried tomato, sausages, potato, chops, and steak surrounded a drooling Ranma. Carefully Regeana passed knives and forks over to the martial artist and sat down at a stool placed under the table. Both Maeniel and Regeana watched in awe as Ranma decimated the plates of food. What could have possibly feed an entire Rugby team consumed in under fifteen minutes. As Ranma used the last steak to sop up the juices from the tomato's Maeniel coughed and rubbed his chin. "When your quite finished why don't you join us out in the conservatory, we have much to talk about." Finished Ranma debated licking the plates but finally he followed the couple out the large glass doors into the glass room.

A wrought iron table sat in the centre of a flower filled conservatory, Green ferns and other leafy plants filled the glassed walled room. Gas heaters kept the air warm in what he assumed would normally be an extremely cold room. The sound of water falling on rocks could be heard and Ranma presumed a small fountain was contained somewhere in the foliage. Gesturing to one of the chairs at the table Ranma sat down opposite the couple. There was silence for a minute then both Ranma and Regeana spoke.  
"Who are you? . . ."  
"We want to help you." Ranma stopped and grinned. "You know a lot of strange thing have happened to me over the last couple of days and I think you can help me, or rather I hope you can help me."  
Maeneil smiled back at the boy. "Yes, I think we can help you. We should help you. It has been a very long time since a new Wolf has been found one that can not be traced." "What do you mean can not be traced?"  
"We that can change into both man and wolf are a rare breed, though ancient our numbers are less than a score. We pass our abilities through the blood, you can not bite some one as they like to put in movies."  
A mental picture Ranma had of biting his father and taking him to the vets to be neutered is killed.  
"For you to appear out of nowhere is not extremely rare it is impossible." Maeniel spoke with certainty.  
"Well I don't mean to break your world but I'm here. You say that being a . . . what do you call it?"  
Regeana spoke, "Umm we don't really have a word for it. It is just what we are. We are wolves who can turn into men. It is not a good idea to go around some people in this house and call them werewolves. You can call us Lycans, it was in a movie we saw lately. Though we don't turn into half human half wolf creatures like they do. We only have two forms. a wolf or a human."  
"How many people live here?"  
"In our home, there are seven people at the moment all are Lycans. "  
"Who are you guys?"  
"We, . . .we have been keeping an eye on Lycans for a very long time. It has become a sort of duty to watch out for those Lycans that live in our world. "  
"So what your like a police."  
"No we are not official but we are always here as a base for those Lycans of our world." Ranma leant back in his chair. "So, if being a . . .Lycan is hereditary does that mean my parents have to be ones.?"  
"Yes, it does,' A flash of pain crossed Regeana's face' my Father was a Lycan but was killed before I could learn my heritage. Some people killed him by shooting him threw the heart."  
"I've wished by Pop was dead heaps of times but I don't think I could personally kill him. If I got the chance though I would do my best to beat the crap out of him."  
"What has your father done to you?"  
Ranma placed his hands behind his head. "Oh I don't know, he's kept me on a nine year training trip away from my Mum, and home and Japan. While we have been on this training trip he has repeatedly put me through training methods so insane that I seriously doubt the old man's mental health. When he discovered I was a . . Lycan he decided he could make a cheap buck and give me some 'training' at the same time and sold me to a wolf baiting, dog fight."  
"Aver mentioned this he said you have left your father. Do you have any plans on what you are going to do now?"  
"I was thinking I should probably head back to Japan and finding my Mum if Pop's not a Lycan that means she must be and I really miss her I haven't seen her since I was six." Regeana sighed so many of those that were Lycan's had stories of woe surrounding their lives. "Do you know any thing about your mother. We may know her."  
"Well, she has black hair I think I 'm not sure I can't quite remember. My last name's Saotome so she's a Saotome as well and umm I don't think I know anything else I grabbed a whole lot of papers out of my Pop's pack when I grabbed my passport there maybe something in one of those."  
"Hopefully there is something in those papers of your fathers that will help us find your mother." Regeana placed her hands on top of the table turning a slim gold band on her ring finger around. "There are many things you should learn about Lycan's and we hope you can stay here with us for a little while. Aver said you are a good person, it may not look like it but it is not easy to gain Aver's trust."  
Maeniel placed a hand behind Regeana's neck and played withher hair."There are something's you should know before much longer. You should know that the power you have now is heavily connected to nature and the world surrounding us. In the beginning our gift was given to us by spirits, or gods they are hard to describe. They were not human and barely conscious of our world. Ancient tribes would send a member out to become part of a pack of wolves to gain their power and knowledge. These changed people would live for very long time but had few children. After many centuries the world changed ice retreated and the place of honour wolves had held slipped away. As people formed settled communities with herds of domestic animals they came to hate wolves who took advantage of the easy prey. Slowly we were killed off until the times of the Charlemagne the 'Great Saxon' tribes of central Europe and what would become France, still held the place of the Lycans as sacred we were the beloved of the moon. When Charlemagne began to push his Christianity upon the Saxons he actively eliminated those who he saw as holding the old ways. During his life time the last Saxon Lycan chieftain was killed. Since then for 1200 years we have kept a secret of what we are. We are traditionally communal creatures and being alive for a millennium has let us build our wealth, but at the same time what are clothes and money to us that can in a sliver of time leave civilisation for a generation. "  
Ranma sat back at this it was a lot to take in. "Who was Charlemange?"  
"A Frank who became the first Holy Roman Emperor and tried to reclaim the western Roman empire around 800 C.E. He was a great king but as with most figures in history he is not merely one thing."  
Ranma sat this aside for something to think about later. "Some thing happened to me a couple of days ago. I went into this weird garden and their was this lady, she knew about us and she gave me this. "Ranma pushed the red mantle and pin he had placed on the table earlier over to the couple. "She said that the pin belonged to a group of mercenaries. I found it in these ruins kind of close to where we first met." Maeneil picked up the silver pin,  
"Ahh yes, I remember this piece. It's a good thing silver is not poisonous to us. But I will say this now most things that can kill men will kill us is it is done in one movement. We heal faster and move quicker but if we can not change forms a bullet to the heart will kill us. Once our group were mercenaries we used our increased strength and agility to gain a place far from civilisation just for us. In fact we continue to dabble in this world if only to have fun some times."  
Regeana swatted a hand across the back of Maeniel's head. "Don't be modest you enjoy it. You don't think I have noticed the armoury needs to be extended."  
Ranma laughed. "Do you think I could take a little time now to think about everything. I really need to stretch and practice."  
" What do you practice?"  
" I am the heir to the Saotome school of Indiscriminate Grappling. It is a style which incorporates many others. Its hard to describe. Since the excitement I haven't had a chance to relax in practice."  
Both Regeana and Maeneil nodded their heads, "We have a training room which I think you might enjoy using. I think Teresa is in there at the moment. If you want you can work out there and then let us look at the papers of your Father." Ranma smiled maybe he could rest here for a while before something else happened. As he knew it would.

Authors Note

Okay so some questions have been answered if you think I have missed anything important that he should know please tell me and I'll think of something.

The corporate guy that had been at the end of last chapter is not out to get Genma. Some people may think this, and Genma has not stuffed up another deal, fiancée or whatever. Genma will turn up again in a few chapters. I have something planned for the Panda.

Please is any one willing to be a pre-reader. I know my spelling and sometimes my form of expression are not good. If anyone is willing to be my pre-reader please email me. Thankyou  
Thanks for reviewing

WonderBee31

TheCentauress - thanks for reminding me of that term for shapechangers. The books don't give it a name and I have been trying to think of something. Where I have heard the term was in the movie Underworld.

Silverscale

Innortal

Jerry Unipeg

Wharpt - The Rottweiler didn't have rabies though the idea of giving Genma some nasty disease would be nice but now a day all the really nasty ones can be treated. Like Leperosy and Syphillus.

**Please review. Pretty Please and if not for me think of the starving kittens**


	9. Barney Must Die

**Wild Wolf**

Chapter Nine

**Barney must Die**

Disclaimer

Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and the werewolves belong to Alice Borchardt, please don't sue me I have nothing you would really want.

Yah! This chapter has been pre-read and buffed up by Hiryo, Everyone thank them for this chapter seeming more coherent.  
Thankyou very much Hiryo.

"Spirtually, all dogs are wolves,' said the poodle, 'but cynically and cruelly severed from their true destiny by the manipulations of so-called humanity.'

Big Fido  
Men At Arms - Terry Pratchett

Enjoy!

Following Regeana's instructions Ranma walked through the great hall and past Hilo who was staring intently at a cartoon now. The training room was supposedly the door next to the fire on the left from the kitchen. Ranma was again struck by the beauty of the tapestries that hung off the walls and glanced at scenes of old battles, with knights, and dragons. He didn't know if they portrayed real events or if they were imaginary. At this point, he was wary of assuming anything wasn't real. The door to the training room was looked to be solid wood but as Ranma opened it, he could feel the weight was not right for that. It was too heavy it felt like solid steel.

On the other side of the door, a very large open room greeted him. The room was partitioned off into three areas, the first was a gym, filled with weight machines and the like but they looked hardly used and Ranma could see plastic wrapped around some of the machine parts. Next to this was a large open area surrounded by padded walls, and a hard wood floor, matts covered part of the ground. In the area uttermost away from the door, Ranma could see a small gun range. All this was contained in a room that rivaled the central hall in size. Where as that room's walls were covered by intricate tapestries the walls here held movie posters and large skylights, allowing the weak winter sun to shine into the room. In the gun range, Ranma could see someone sending a weapon at the targets. That must be Teresa; he could see a brown ponytail bobbing up and down as the girl threw something he couldn't see. Ranma walked through the room staring intently at the machines 'I wonder if I have a go on some of them, Pop never was one for organized fitness program.' When he reached the gun range, he leant against the partition that separated it from the rest of the room and looked at the girl who was ignoring him. Teresa had short glossy straight brown hair, tied back in a high ponytail that bounced with the movement of each throw. She was wearing a black skivvy with the arms rolled up over her elbows and dark blue jeans. Sitting in front of her on the bench before the targets were a row of twenty or so tiny throwing knives. They had no handle and were merely a short 5cm/2 inch triangular blade a small flat surface at the base was the only room to hold them and they shone a dull silver under the cloudy light from the skylights.

Ranma coughed politely. "You're good." Teresa didn't stop she just nodded her head. "Yes I am." Ranma waited a minute.  
"How long have you been practicing"  
The girl picked up another blade and sent it down the range to land with a thunk in a poster set up where the targets' usually were for other weapons.  
"I never practice, this is just a hobby, my real passions are guns, but after a while you'll get good at anything with enough training." Ranma watched her throwing the knives and as the last knife landed with a thud he took a look at the poster she had been aiming at. It was a giant purple dinosaur. Teresa had carefully sent knives into all the vital spots of its fluffy violent purple body. Ranma gave her an inquisitive look. "Babysitting for a friend." Ranma was still confused but he didn't think he would ever understand. "Kid, you're along way from Japan. My name's Teresa." Ranma smiled as he watched her walk to the end of the range and pull out the knives from the poster.  
"Hi, I'm Ranma. You're the one who cooked all that food. Thanks heaps it was great." Ranma licked his lips and thought about the meal he had just consumed. 'Mmm food.' Teresa walked back and pulled an oiled cloth from a metal cabinet running along the wall. She started running it over the blades and placing them carefully into a black case that was sitting on the bench.

"So I was wondering if you'd mind if I just used some of the machines, just to try them out. I've never seen them before." Placing the case back into the cabinet and locking it. Teresa pulled the sleeves of her skivvy down from her elbows.  
"Sure, so what are you into, you know what's your favorite color who's your favorite band. Now you're a Lycan you're going to come to know everyone here pretty well. Though, after the first fifty years you do tend to hear everyone's jokes and stories. That's why only seven are in the House at the moment; we don't spend all our time together." Walking back past the open training ground in the middle of the room they stopped in front of the gym machines.  
"How did you end up here with Regeana and Maeneil?" Teresa walked over to a strange machine that had metal cords and heavy weights all over it.  
"Have you ever used any of these machines, I'm pretty sure that you can hurt your self if you don't know how." Ranma for once noticed the attempt to change the subject and looked at the machine.  
"How come they're all dusty?" Pointing to a padded bench that sat in the middle of the machine Teresa indicated to Ranma where he should sit and what he should hold onto. "Oh, Gavin, you haven't met him. Have you, well he saw this show a couple of years ago and convinced Maeneil that we needed all this stuff but he played with it a couple of times then dropped it. Someone will wander in every so often and use one but otherwise it's just left alone." Ranma sat down and started to pull on the two padded armrests that Teresa had pointed. "I'll just add weights you tell me when it feels right and I'll stop. I really haven't got more than a vague idea how these things work so watch out." Ranma started moving the armrests. "You're lucky, sometimes someone comes into their heritage, and we aren't around to help them. There are things out there that would love to get there greedy little tentacles on a Lycan. Apparently, our essence, or what ever it's called is quite tasty. Besides supernatural arseholes, there are the humans you have to worry about. Aver said something about you being put in a wolf-baiting pit. You know Maeniel well, you know how you were a human that became a wolf, and I heard that originally he was a wolf who became a man. Apparently he was watching these girls washing themselves in a river and became a man." Ranma couldn't feel any resistance in the metal he was pushing. "Umm, have you put any weight onto the machine?" Stopping Ranma turned around. Teresa was sitting on the seat of an exercise bike. On the back of his machine several heavy black circular weights rested.  
"And that is the other reason hardly anyone uses the machines, with our added strength it has become kind of pointless to use the ordinary weights." Ranma sighed and got up,  
"Do you think I could practice my martial arts here for a while I just need some time to think."  
"Sure, I was just going to start making lunch, I don't usually, but you look like you could o with a feed up." Teresa walked out of the training room.

Ranma walked over to the open ground that sat between the gym and gun range. Teresa was a strange mixture of standoffish and non-stop talker. It was weird and why had she distracted him from that question? Standing in the centre Ranma slowly breathed in deeply and swept into the beginning of his art. With every thing that had been happening to him, it was good to have this time to himself for a little while. The peace of following through motions, which were ingrained into the mind and muscle, flowed through Ranma's thoughts. With each move, he remembered when he had first learnt it. Beginning with the simplest, that could change into the more complex, which he learnt as a small child. The simple movements that were so familiar allowed his mind to float and think about what he was going to do. There was no question that he was going to have to go back to Japan. His mother was in Japan and she would have answers to some important questions, like why did she let him go on a training trip with Genma if she knew he was a Lycan. What should he do about this place? Regeana and Maeneil seemed nice, and he wondered if they would let him borrow some money to get back to Japan. Walking to Europe had been interesting but he was pretty sure that some people across three continents now considered Genma and him by association dead upon entry into their country. He liked to fight but he didn't have that big of a death wish. Aver was a great guy, but he didn't understand what the thing with the stuffed pig meant. It was weird. Sliding into one of the aerial moves of the Saotome School Ranma flipped through the air. Maybe he should just go with the flow no one was out to kill him now as long as he wasn't with Pop. It wasn't like he could have done anything else to screw up his life. Across Japan and several continents dozens of young teenage girls sneezed

Appearing in the kitchen when the smell of cooking food drifted into the training room a couple of hours later Ranma leant his hands on the long wooden table and rested his head on them. He watched intently the pies that Teresa was pulling out of one of the ovens. "Well, I was going to make a couple of Steak and Guinness pies and I had more pastry so I made a couple of fruit pies, one's Peach the other Mulberry." Ranma wasn't listening he just stared at the steaming pies. "Maneial went through earlier he said if you want we're going for a run tonight and if you want to rest before we leave." Ranma stared at the pies. "Aver was in earlier he said that he had wanted to show you something." Ranma stared at the pies. "My mother was a plate of cream cakes and my father was the Emperor of China." Ranma stared at the pies. Teresa sighed they really needed to cool for longer but she didn't know if they would last that long. Ranma stared at the pies. Placing the last pie on the table, she reached in a drawer and pulled out a knife and then a plate. "So how much would you like?"

Genma was grumbling to himself as he marched along a dirt road. A dry scrubland surrounded him, and a heavy sun shone down from a pure blue sky. 'Blasted boy, abandoning his own father well he'd show him. You don't do that to your own father especially when they had done everything he had done to . . . I mean for Ranma.' Building himselfhigher andhigher into righteous fury. Genma was too busy to notice the world around. From out of the sand, a line of trucks and tanks passed in and out of sight of the road as they drove over the rocky hilly country. A cloud of dust spread out behind them as they drew closer and closer to the grumpy figure of Genma. 'Well the boy was going to have to find him come what may; he was the only one who knew where his mother was. When he turned up he wasn't going to let him have any time the boy was going to be married and he was going to be set for life.' Genma suddenly stopped when he noticed that a shade was now covering the road in front of him. Looking up he can just see the outline of a dusty tank and several armed figures standing in front of it. Waving a hand Genma smiled sickly. "Hi." One of the figures makes an inquisitive noise. "Don't mind me I'm just your average normal martial artist completely harmless." The figure makes another gesture this time with the barrel of his machine gun. "You wouldn't happen to have any marriageable daughters would you? " A figure started to walk to Genma. 'Right time to use the Saotome final move.' The aid helpers who had been traveling towards a refugee camp several miles away,are startled when the strange fat Japanese man in a white suit, jumped in the air and ran in the opposite direction when they asked him if he wanted a lift to town.

Authors Note

Sorry this is so short, my Mum has left the country for a month and I get to look after my step-father and brother while she is away. At the same time my step-father just gave me a kitten so I have my hands full keeping our dogs from eating it. Well those are my excuses.

Next time Ranme gets to run with the pack and discovers somethings about his Mother from the papers stolen from Genma. I promise they will get to Nerima . . . eventually

Thankyou so much for reviewing.  
Innortal  
Silverscale  
Jerry Unipeg  
Wonderbee31 - I only have the manga and in that everything is in black and white so I always imagine Ranma's mum having black hair. I know that it is red in the anime but oh well it's can be ooc.  
I just got he 8th manga and it has Ranma as a kid for the Ukyo part he is so cute. Some how some way I am going to work a scence with chibi- Ranma. A flash back or something. If any one has a suggestion I am open.  
Soul-of-Ice, thanks for reminding me I forgot about the musk. I don't know how they would react but I think that Lycans are kind of the european version of what the musk were trying to do. I wonder what their reaction will be to the female wolfRanma?

For those who read Spirit Hunter, sorry for the wait a chapter will be out in a few days.

Nearly Forgot suggestions open for a name for the kitten. Its male, with a white stomach, and orange and black splotches on his back.

**Please Review with just a few seconds of your time you can feed a starving kitten and it's village for a year, or until the next chapter. **


	10. Unwritten Rules

**Wild Wolf**

**Chapter Ten**

**Unwritten Rules. **

Chapter ten has been proofread by Hiryo. Check out their story!

Disclaimer  
If you recognise it I don't own it and have no right to write about it. But I don't make any money out of it so Nah

Those characters that speak japanese are Aver, Teresa, Regeana, Maeniel, and Gavin. Any converstion with them unless it is indicated is in Japanese. Any other conversation is in English unless indicated.

I will put up a list of my characters with next weeks chapter to make it easier.

ENJOY!

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright  
In the forest of the night,  
What immortal hand or eye  
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies  
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?  
On what wings dare he aspire?  
What the hand dare sieze the fire?

The Tyger: William Blake

The front door of the small one story house was ajar. A black cast iron door is kept open by a sleeping cat. At the first step a brown mat rested. Written on it were the words 'Love me love my Cat.' That is a sign that this is not the home of a completely sane person. Inside a woman we have met earlier is sitting in her living room typing on her laptop. The screen was filled with an internet site. A radio rested next to the small television across from her. It played some pop hit, which would be forgotten in a month. Beside her the phone rang, she left it for the machine to pick it up. After her voice told everyone to leave a message behind, she heard a familiar women's voice, which she hadn't heard in years. "Hey, just a quick hi. I'm Sorry if Maeniel freaked you out earlier. He did that whole dark mysterious thing. He can be such a pain sometimes. After twelve hundred years, you think he would get over it. He still doesn't know how to use our fax. A few hours ago, we found this kid and I was just wondering. Do you know if anyone had ababy about fifteen years ago probably in Japan. This poor guy turned up over here and we're at a loss to find out where he came from. This kid is a mess. His father apparently sold him into a wolf-baiting pit. You know the more things change the more they stay the same. Well if you know anything... call me back. It would be a great help. The poor kid has no idea what is going on. See ya later." The women stopped typing and stared at the phone sitting next to her. 'I hate to keep this a secret but... I can't ring them back. The past is coming back to bite us in our arses and I have so much to do before theshit hits the fan.Maybe before the worse happened I would get the chance to see him again.'

From the kitchen, Ranma could hear several voices, their volume moving up and down in a loud argument. Luckily, someone had soundproofed the walls and doors of the building, an important thing to do when you live with a whole lot of super sensitive werewolves. After he had been kicked out of the kitchen by Teresa, because she wanted to save the last pie for everyone else, he had settled back to watch television with Hilo. He sat down with the brunette man that ignored him and turned up the volume of the cartoon he was watching. Something in English, so only half the words were understandable to Ranma. There was a little red head kid, who had a laboratory and then there was a hyperactive blonde girl, who broke things. Then these three little bug eyed colored coded girls who flew, that kicked this angry monkey with a big head's arse. It was very confusing. Teresa had told him to get a rest for a few hours but after sleeping for so long. 'I don't think I could sleep so soon after nearly collapsing like that.' His internal clock and the fact that a few half hour shows had been on told him that it was probably time to head back into the kitchen and see what all the yelling is about. Turning to face Hilo whose face was lit up with reflected colors of the screen. Ranma spoke using his small amount of English. "We are to go to Kitchen now." Hilo just grunted and said, "The Simpson's are on in half an hour." Ranma took that this meant no, climbed off the couch and walked into the kitchen and smacked into the middle of a fight.

"Teresa please, you make the best. I wouldn't ask if I didn't need it." Teresa sits on a stool next to the kitchen table and sighted,

"No, Maeniel made you promise to have no more than one cup of sugar a day." Aver lies on the ground on his back with both arms wrapped around Teresa's legs.

"Oh please, you know it won't rot my teeth. I don't need very much." Teresa sighed again. Aver had been trying to pry some sort of sugar treat out of her for the past two hours. "Look if you want something to eat. I made some muesli bars with honey yesterday. They're in a tin under the table." Aver rolled onto his chest and looked up at her.

"That's not real sugar. It has to be machine processed before it's real sugar." Teresa sank her head into her hands, and heard the kitchen door open, with out looking up and speaking in english shebarked.

"Get your own tea tonight. We're going for a run later." Ranma stared at the picture of Aver kneeling at the obviously annoyed Teresa's feet.

"Umm you said to come back in a few hours?" Teresa looked up to see Ranma looking confused in the doorway.

"Oh it's you, look I'll give you a C H O C O L A T E B A R if you'll get rid of him for an hour." Ranma remained confused, while Aver scrambled to his feet and scowled,

"You know I can spell. In addition, he can't speak very good English so give me the chocolate. I know you've it." Ranma lent against the doorframe and watched as Teresa stood up.

"I'll only get it out, if you leave the room and I'll have Ranma guarding the door, so you can't sneak around and find the stash." Aver slumped his way out of the kitchen knowing that he had pushed Teresa as far as she would let him for today. Teresa told Ranma once he left,

"Stand in front of the door and make sure Aver don't try to find my cooking chocolate." "Why is Aver not allowed sugar?" Teresa looked over at Ranma as she pulled a heavy ceramic canister out of a low cupboard.

"Well, there aren't really that many rules when you're staying here. However, that Aver only gets one cup of sugar a day is one of them. He usually uses half of that in his coffee in the morning. You don't get him wet, and you don't feed him after midnight. Wait no those are for Gremlins. You just make sure not to give Aver any sugar. He becomes a little strange if he gets hold of more." Ranma remembered the stuffed pig from the florist. Teresa shouted in victory as she pulled a metal biscuit tin out from the ceramic canister from underneath a load of potatoes.

"I always have some snickers and other sorts of chocolate bar to use for cooking, snacking, and bribing Aver to leave me alone. I have this really great Snickers muffin recipe somewhere." Chucking a couple of king sized bars to Ranma. "Leave and give one of them to Aver and keep one for yourself, before Aver starts to rip up the furniture."

As soon as Ranma went back into the main hall, where Aver had been sent, he was jumped, and no matter how fast he was, or strong. A sugar crazed Aver had the upper hand. Moreover, before he knew it both chocolate bars were gone. 'Wow Aver could give Pops a run for his money.' Before Ranma could blink both king sized bars were gone and Aver collapsed over the back of the couch with his head resting on the ground and his legs in the air. "I love chocolate, usually Teresa makes up a whole lot of sweets by herself at the start of the month, but I finished them before we went for a run a week ago. She makes the best lollies." Aver started to drool as he listed the sweets Teresa would make to keep the hyperactive Lycan from finding where she kept the cooking sugar, as well keeping him from eating it straight out of the jar. "Brandy Balls, Butterscotch, Fudge, Truffles, Coconut Ice, Florentine Caramels, Hokey Pokey, Marshmallows, Nut Toffee, Caramel Popcorn, and my favorite Turkish Delight." Hilo had ignored this rambling speech but at the next commercial break got up from his seat.

"Right, you can get lost. You're not going to come down off the sugar rush for another half hour. And take the new guy with you. I don't want to miss the Simpson's." Aver sprung to his feet and grabbed Ranma's hand.

"Come on, you've got to see this. I know you'll love it." Aver dragged Ranma from the great hall through another door. "You've got to see my room." Through the door was a small circular room with a stairway leading upwards. "The guest rooms are on the bottom floor with the gym, laundry, sauna, and all that but upstairs are everyone else's bedrooms and the offices." The stair well went up three floors but Aver pushed through a door on to the floor above. It opened out into a wide hallway with only a few doors opening out on to it. Small wall lights lit the hall, which had a hardwood floor and more tapestries hanging off the walls. Aver pulled open the first door on the left and pulled Ranma in.

Aver's room was different from what he had expected. A plain light grey carpet covered the ground, of the huge room. A very large bed took up a lot of space in the centre of the room. Black and white abstract prints hung on the walls and a large cream-colored curtain covered half of the wall opposite the door. Tall black cast iron lamps lit the room. "What do you think of my room?" Ranma looked around. The words cold and boring came to his mind.

"Did you decorate the room yourself?" Aver jumped on his bed, which was completely unmade and had most of its sheets sitting on the floor.

"Oh no, Regeana got this guy to come in and decorate our rooms a couple of years ago. I was away and he did my room like this. Regeana said I could change it if I want but I can't be bothered and I don't spend that much time in here anyway." Ranma sunk into a large cream-colored leather seat that sat with a brother next to a black glass table.

"So what did you want to show me?" Aver grinned and picked up a remote control that was sitting on a table next to his bed. With the push of a button one of the walls slid open and a complete entertainment system appeared. A huge flat screen television appeared that was still smaller than the one downstairs surrounded by a sound system and all the electrical goodies you could imagine. Aver jumped off the bed and pulled out a PS2 and two controllers.

"I saw how you like to fight. So grab a controller and sit down." From somewhere Aver pulled to large beanbags and plunked himself back in front of the T.V.

"Aver, Ranma, get out it's time to go." Teresa stood at Aver's doorway she could hear yelling and swearing and the noise of recorded gunfire. "Aver, turn off the PlayStation, and get out of here." Grumbling, "Why am I the one who always has to make sure Aver did what he was told? I'm not his mother." Teresa stormed into the room to find both Lycans sitting in front of the television shouting at the screen.

"What? No! The controller is broken. We have to play again that wasn't fair." Aver was shouting at Ranma, who had a cocky grin on his face and stood triumphantly waving his arms in the air.

"I won, you lose. Nyah nyah." Teresa stood watching the completely immature antics of a fifteen-year-old Ranma and over 350-year-old Aver. When Aver jumped on top of Ranma to stop him from dancing in a circle and declaring himself champion of the world. Teresa coughed still ignored she coughed again. She watched Ranma pull Aver over his head by a foot and slammed him into the ground. "And that why I won 'cause I the greatest. So nyah." When Aver got back up and tackled Ranma around the middle Teresa picked up the PS2.

"Okay, if I don't get your attention in five seconds I am going to turn this into so much trashed plastic." This got Aver's attention and he stopped trying to pull Ranma's arm off. "NO!" Jumping up the blonde Lycan rushed over to Teresa and grabbed after the PS2 to get it out of her hands. Ranma got up and watched Teresa hold the PlayStation just out of reach of Aver, who was jumping around her.

"It's time to go down stairs, everyone is waiting." Aver finally got the PlayStation back form Teresa when she tossed it too him. He clutched it to his chest.

"My precious," he stroked it and placed it back next to the sound system.

Back down stairs, Hilo was gone from in front of the television and the kitchen was empty. Ranma followed Teresa and Aver out through a large glass door in the conservatory in to the back garden. The sun had just set and small lights spread through the garden lit up the plants and water feature. Gathered around a white statue of a women wearing a draping Grecian dress pouring a vase of water out into a pool, which led through the rest of the garden, were everyone he had so far met in the house, and a red headed man, as well a large women he had not seen before. Regeana was sitting on the edge of the pool with one hand in the water. Maeniel was talking to the unknown red headed man. Teresa walked over to Regeana and started to talk, "Why I'm always the one who has to pry Aver away from his PlayStation?" Ranma followed Aver over to Maeniel. The man with him had started to count off on one hand.

"We need a bigger garage. 1. Because we got that new jeep and it can't sit outside. 2. We're running out of room for the new motor cycles. 3. Umm give me a minute I'll think of something."

"Isn't the jeep meant for harsh conditions?" The red headed Lycan shook a finger,

"Yes but that's besides the point we need a bigger garage." Maeniel sighed and turned to Ranma, who was watching the argument.

"Hi Ranma this is Gavin, who has been eyeing up a new yellow Mercedes Benz motor cycle for the past six months and knows that I won't build onto the garage until one of the other vehicles needs to be trashed." Gavin had deep red haircut shaggy short tuffs sat over the front of his eyes. He was only an average height his head reaching up to Maeniel's nose. Gavin wore a black button up shirt with a white t-shirt underneath some sort of writing could be seen underneath on the t-shirt at the neck.

"Hey! You're the new guy, Silvia and me got back a couple of hours ago we decided to stay behind when Maeniel and Regeana picked you up from the town. He tells me you're Japanese I haven't been there in years. Where are you exactly from?" Ranma reached a hand behind his head and scratched,

"You know I not know where I from exactly. My father had us moving around that much and before that I not remember where I lived." Gavin smiled.

"So you've done a lot of traveling. Where have you been?"

"Well Pop had us cover most of Japan, we travel through China. Pops said we were going to stop off there when we travel back to Japan. Passed through top of India, avoided Afghanistan, and Arab Emirates. We entered Europe by Russia and Poland but we tendedto stayaway from any towns except when old fart wanted drink or better food." Patting Ranma's shoulder Gavin commiserated,

"I can see you have a loving and understanding relationship with your father." Ranma shrugged,

"Did Maeniel tell you about him selling me to wolf baiting pit?"

"What as a human or a wolf?" Ranma put a finger to his chin,

"It would have been third night I discovered I was Lycan and I did not know then how change back and forth with out moonlight yet. So he doped me up and sold me as wolf. You say I have a caring relationship with old bastard. But he only Pop I have so unfortunately he no pushed me to kill him yet." Maeniel spoke up

"You have more patience then me. Are you ready for a run? We don't usually organize them this much. Regeana thought you might prefer it this way instead to just throwing you into it." Putting an arm around Ranma's shoulders Maeniel brought him over to the women who had been talking quietly amongst themselves, with Aver lounging on the edge of the pond with his hair trailing in the water.

"Okay, I though we could head over to the lake and then circle back, I don't think there am any larger animals in the area. If you want to head off... Fine by me, just be back by ten in the morning. I have an announcement then." The gathered Lycans started to remove their clothing. Ranma stood where he was in the middle of the garden and didn't move. "Ahh, excuse me. What are you all doing?" Regeana who was unlacing her boots laughed at the stunned look on Ranma's face.

"I think Ranma's a little bit shy. Why doesn't Aver take him back inside and he can change there." Ranma had shut his eyes when he saw Silvia, who he hadn't been introduced to yet, start to unbutton her jeans.

"Yes, . . .yes, please." Striding back through the house Aver led Ranma back into the room he originally had woken up. Standing in the doorway Aver smiled.

"Okay, sometimes we forget about the whole public nudity thing, living up here away from humans, it tends to distance us. So I think you should lighten up, or you're going to have a coronary before you turn twenty." Ranma slumped back on his bed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, I been on road since I six. In that time, I have not really have much time for social interaction. Pop would be caught by truancy officer once in while and I'd have to go to school for week before the old man pissed someone off and we had flee. Thenfat bastardmade me go through insane training regiments if only to please demented monkey sittign at the controlsin his head. I've not really had time to learn about rules of polite society and I think with everything that happened to me over past few days I'm taking this extremely well. So if you just leave I'll be right out." Aver held his hands out in front of him in a placating gesture.

"Sure fine, we'll be outside waiting." Aver walked out of the room, as Ranma started to pull off his t-shirt.

The wolf had been sitting in the back of Ranma's mind enjoying the new world of the house with its interesting smells and sights. It was well fed and happy, and soon it was going to be around others. Somehow, like it hadn't happened before. With a shiver of thought, Ranma found himself a wolf. His clothes chucked on his bed. The wolf could smell so many new and interesting smells. The scent of different wolves made his ruff spring up. Ranma calmed down. No one was here to hurt him. From the door he could smell the scent of the food that had been cooked earlier and someone's musky deodorant. In his room he could smell, a human Aver, wolf Aver, and what he assumed was human Regeana whose scent was surrounding his pack. Trotting out of his room, he noticed a myriad of different scents that were overwhelming this senses. He would have to comeback later in wolf form to really investigate the different scents. When he reached the kitchen, he stopped and took a deep sniff. The overlapping layers of food made him drool just thinking about them. In fact, he had started panting and snapped his mouth shut, when he felt himself begin to drool. As he reached the outside, he noticed that only two wolves sat where the seven humans had been undressing. It was Aver and a large grey wolf. The wolf Aver was behind the other wolf leaning over the small pond with one paw in the water. Ranma trotted out and slowed as his senses were telling him that this wasn't a wolf he wanted to act cocky around but when had that ever stopped him. Ranma walked past the other wolf and sniffed, as soon as he did this a heavy paw landed on the back of his head, squashing him down on to the gravel garden path. A deep growl sounded from the grey wolf, whining Ranma slowly crawled backwards away from the large paw. 'Okay, I think I can guess what that was for, I better learn some manners fast, that hurt, but it was only a warning, I think.' Sure, that Ranma now knew to be careful and do what the other wolf indicated. They trotted off.

The night was early and Ranma could hear insects and animals moving around the forest, which met the edge of the garden. Following in a slow run, Ranma passed by the outer edge of the forest as he followed the other wolves into the scattered trees. The moon was not full as it had been a couple of days a go but only a thin sliver was cut from the waning moon above their heads and a thin light shone down on the running wolves, the shadows flickering on their dark coats. A steady hush grew over the trees as the wolves moved in deeper, leaping around the pine trees that made up the majority of the forest. Ranma felt himself let go, the world spread out around him, he slid around trucks, and below branches. It did not take any thought to avoid harm he moved with the forest not against it. He could smell and see the trail of the other wolves in front of him. He follows the invisible trail that Aver and the grey wolf left behind while running ahead. After running for a little while, the noise of the forest brought the sounds and scents of the other wolves to Ranma's ears and nose. The trees, which had thickened in density slowly, thinned until they reached the edge of a lake. The sight revealed the silver shinning water underneath the moonlight. Ranma could see four wolves laying on the edge of the gravel before the gently lapping water.

Moving closer to the water Ranma crossed the gravel that clicked as it moved under his feet. He carefully leant down to take a drink. Suddenly a body slammed into him from behind and he ended up face first by the edge of the shallow water. Yipping wildly, Ranma sprang out of the water and dashed out. Standing ten meters away, a laughing Aver was laying on his back waving all four legs in the air. One of the female wolves, which is a dusty brown colored with dark face markings walks over to the laughing wolf and slapped him with a paw. Shaking himself the water spread all over, hitting Aver and the wolf Ranma would place money on being Teresa. With all his fur now up on end, Ranma high stepped away from the water and sat on the edge of the gravel. Suddenly Aver shot up and leaped into the air. The others ignored him and remained seating but a red wolf, who was sitting next to a larger female wolf lying underneath a tree sleeping. The red wolf leapt into the air and started chasing Aver, who pushed past Ranma and ran into the woods, followed by the red wolf and Ranma who turned quickly to chase the hyperactive Lycan.

The woods were large and the chase led themthrough the forest at high speeds. The three wolves leapt over a fallen walnut tree, which had rooted and continuing to grow just as Ranma managed to catch Aver in a flying leap. The two wolves rolled on to the ground until Ranma broke off and danced around in a circle if he could speak he would probably be saying nhay, nhay. At this point, the red wolf managed to catch the distracted Ranma and knocked the martial artist turned wolf into a bush underneath a tree. Ranma leapt away from the bush as soon as he could yelping loudly. Thick thorns stuck into the soft skin of his paws. Flipping over on to his back Ranma started to lick his feet, when one of the other wolves stepped closer Ranma scouted backwards on his rear and huddled up next to the fallen walnut tree. The other wolves after a few minutes looked at each other and then headed back to the lake starting the chase again. A lone Ranma leant against the back of the fallen tree. The moonlight showed the flash of silver. Where a moon-etched wolf had lain there was a naked Ranma, which began to pick the thick thorns out of the palms of his hands with his fingers. While healing fast is good it doesn't help if what is causing you pain is still stuck into your skin. The thorns were carefully removed and it was just as well since the wind had begun to raise Goosebumps furthermore he didn't want any one else to find him naked in the forest. Ranma slipped quickly back into wolf form. A scent slid through the air, slight but harsh. Ranma raised his head nose to the air, and stood quickly. With that, a tranquillizer dart that had been aimed at his chest slid underneath parting his furhitting the walnut log with a slight thud and a puff of sawdust. Ranma jumped straight up in the air stared at the dart that looked lie a hypodermic on steroids and leapt behind the tree trunk. As another hypodermic dart passed just over his head he yelped and started running in a zig zag paterrntowards the direction of the gunner.

Authors Note

He, he, cliff hanger, will he meet the shooter or will he miss them. Who was the mysterious gunmen. What is this about a grassy knoll.

I am so sorry about the wait. This is extra long, well long for me. Finally the plot begins to thicken.  
Thankyou so much for reviewing If you can think of something wrong or helpful please tell me.  
All recipes mentioned in the chapter especially the sweets I have a copy of and have made. Not always correctly.  
If you want a copy of any recipe like Hokey Pokey or Caremel Popcorn just email me.I'm happy to send it.Email at Profile Please

Review just click on the little blue button below you. Please


	11. Tenebrae

**Wild Wolf**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Tenebrae**

This has not been pre-read, all mistakes are mine.

"I Love to Hunt"

William II of England

Disclaimer If you haven't already realised I don't own anything.

Shadows danced between the trees as they traced the black wolf leaping between the forest. Some one had fired at him, the sound of the tranquilliser dart thudding into the wood of that tree still echoed through his ears. Darting backwards and forwards through the tree limbs Ranma tried to keep out of the line of sight of the unknown gunman. Another dart flew through the air barely missing his shoulder as he dove through bushes surrounding a thin sapling. A tiny voice in the back of his mind was telling him that maybe running towards a person with a gun wasn't the brightest idea, but the majority of Ranma's mind squished this traitorous thought. Chasing the direction of the dart's Ranma finally caught a scent of oil and man floating in the air as the wind changed direction. Creeping low to the ground Ranma crawled closer as the smell of gun and man became stronger. The land was rising up, the gunman was settled on the top of a rise. Keeping close to the ground Ranma crawled forward on his four paws, as soon as the scent of man grew too strong.

A man was kneeling in a small hide built of branches the darkness of his clothing standing out in the grey of the forest. Sitting back Ranma watched the gunman scan the woods below him. After a minute the sniper started puling apart the small hide of braches that surrounded him. Picking up a small bag, the attacker strode towards where Ranma was laying in the bushes. As he walked the gunman slid the rifle into the sling on his back. When he reached the bushes surrounding the lycan, Ranma sprang up slamming into the man's chest and forcing him down onto the ground. Growling into the sniper's face, Ranma was stoped inches away by the man's arms thrust against his chest. Kicking upwards the gunman tried to put his feet under the wolf and kick him off. But Ranma's impressive strength pushed down on the gunman who was forced to focus on stopping the wolf ripping out his throat. The only noise in the small clearing was the sound of Ranma's growls and the quick breaths of the pinned stranger. The strength of the wolf pushed the gunman's arms further and further down until the man could feel the wolfs hot breath and spittle hit his face over the night goggles.

With a desperate grasp the gunman pulled an arm free wedging his caught arm over his face and clasped at his belt. With a quick movement the sniper had a small back plastic handled knife in his hand and stabbed it into the side of Ranma's neck. Rearing backwards the martial artist turned wolf ripped the small knife from the panting gunman's hand. Shaking his head, Ranma managed to dislodge the blade, which had luckily been caught mostly by his thick ruff of neck fur. But it had managed to pierce his neck leaving a semi-deep stab wound to the side of his neck and blood began to drip from the small looking cut. Surging to his feet the sniper reached over his shoulder and pulled the rifle out of the sling on his back. Aiming at the Ranma who was slowly turning around to run, the gunman pulled the trigger and sent a tranquilliser dart into the wolf's chest. Swinging fully around Ranma howled and ran towards the tree's closely pursued by the mysterious gunman.

Hampered by the bleeding wound and dart dangling from the black fur on his chest Ranma ran inelegantly through the trees just ahead of the sniper. Slamming into trees and branches Ranma left a trail of blood splatters across the wood. He slid as he felt his fast metabolism attempt to overcome the tranquilliser and the wound to his neck that was quickly bleeding. He needed to change back into human form to combat the drug and wound but he didn't think the attacker would stop to let him do this. He didn't know if the man was just hunting wolves or knew what the wolves in this area were, but he hoped the others heard his howl before the drug set in. He had been knocked out and woken in strange places too many times lately he didn't want it to happen again. Ranma could feel the affect of the drugs slowing down his responses and making him clumsy. Stumbling over a windblown branch Ranma tumbled to a stop as his front legs gave out and he fell over his nose. Ending up sprawled across the forest floor stopping against the trunk of a pine tree. The world faded from view as he fought the drug and only managed to make his legs spasm. The last view of the forest before the lights went out was a glint of moonlight off the glass in the gunman's night goggles as he strode through the forest into view.

Authors Note

Okay I am evil I know.

I have left this chapter short and sweet because I want you the readerto have to wait a moment to turn to the next page.

What has happened to Ranma will be up in a few days. I promise.  
Sorry for the wait I have had internet connection problems for a few weeks. Hopefully I can get it sorted.  
Thankyou so much for reviewing everyone.

PLEASE REVIEW SAVE THE PLOT BUNNY FROM BEING EATEN BY RANMA


	12. One step forward two steps back

_Wild Wolf_

_Chapter Twelve_

**One Step Forward, Two Steps Back**

This chapter has been pre-read by Hiryo, please have a look at their stories.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to other people except Aver he's mine.

A/N As a cheat for me all the lycans except for Hilo and Sylvia speak Japanese. It saved me from a problem when I introduced the characters but as of next chapter this will change. I will use symbols for different languages I promise.

'Bad spelling can be lethal. For example, the greedy Seriph of Al-Yabi was cursed by a badly-educated deity and for some days everything he touched turned to Glod, which happened to be the name of a small dwarf from a mountain community hundreds of miles away who found himself magically dragged to the kingdom and relentlessly duplicated. Some two thousand Glods later the spell wore off. These days, the people of Al-Yabi are renowned for being remarkably short and bad-tempered.'

(Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad)

From a tall willow a magpie sang, its black and white coat nearly invisible amongst the leaves. The willow's lower branches at the base of the tree trailed gently in a pond that reflected back the winter blue sky while there are many water lilies and bull grass in it. A gravel path circled around the pond, which ends with a dark wooden pagoda that sat opposite the willow tree. Inside the pagoda, at a small black cast iron table, sat a man in a dark grey business suit studying a pile of computer printouts. When the magpie's call echoed off the pond, his head lifted and he smiled.

"One's sorrow, two's mirth,

three's a wedding, four's a birth,

five's a christening, six a death,

seven's heaven, eight is hell,

And nine's the devil his ane sel'."

"They are not the most elegant of singers but their music does have a special place in my heart." A silent figure that had been standing to the left of the sitting gentlemen did not move or make a noise.

"Have those new circumstances been calculated and taken into account with my previous plans?" The stiff figure breathed in and spoke,

"Yes sir, we believe that the future events will not impend your plans." Sparrows, which were flitting about in front of the pagoda, were pecking at the short manicured grass that surrounded it.

"You know I don't think that I have ever heard what sparrows mean. Maybe there are always too many to count. Something to think about." From outside the pagoda the crunching of gravel could be heard getting closer to the two men. A blonde woman in a well cut dark red suit reached the pagoda and handed to the standing man a sheet of paper.

"Sir, the source has been contacted. Subject B is under observation. Furthermore as you requested, they don't take matters any further until next contact." After her report, the woman waited. As the magpie in the willow sang its song, the businessman sighed.

"Good, I don't want this screwed up. Subject A is obviously still under observation." The standing figure spoke.

"Yes sir." Pulling another paper out of the pile in front of him the businessman smiled.  
"Good."

Dream Sequence

_WAVY LINES, WAVY LINES_

A dark rain fell on thick grass. Lightning spiced the air with energy. Trees shook and twisted under a harsh wind. Dark clouds cloaked the sky. 'It was cold so cold. He couldn't feel anything.' The wind cut through his clothes cutting to the bone like a knife. 'Why was it always me? Is there no one else on earth that fate could focus his attention on?' From the tree, hundreds of yellow butterflies were rising through the branches. As they flew up, they spun in a circle forming a cylinder. Moreover, the butterflies swooped down on the wet depressed figure sitting amongst the trees. A hundred butterfly wings beat across his face and covered his eyes.  
'I just don't have the energy to try and get them away from my face. Why should I? Knowing my luck, they were probably piranha butterflies.' As the butterflies circled his head, their color started to bleed from the butterflies' wings and the yellow color fell like tears down on the sitting boy, until the butterflies disappeared. With the final flight of the butterflies sitting before the depressed boy, there appeared a wolf. The majestic black wolf sat just in front of him, it looked familiar to him. As he looked at the yellow, dripping down from its nose the wolf opens its mouth and seemed to laugh. Indignant the boy grumped

"What are you laughing about. You're just a figment of my imagination. As soon as I wake up you disappear. So you don't have anything to worry about." The wolf seemed to him to be laughing even harder. Suddenly the boy was standing and walking away from the wolf.

"Well it's my dream I can do what ever I want and I'm leaving." With this, he felt sharp teeth nip his backside. Leaping into the air the rain fell in a spiral pattern around his head. "What was that?" Turning around he saw the wolf, who was still sitting right behind him with its mouth wide open, tongue hanging out, while having a glint of amusement in its eye. "For crying out loud, can't I even feel sorry for myself in my own dreams?"

_End Dream Sequence_

"Pop, I don't want to get up. Bugger off you old fart." Ranma automatically speaking in his native tounge. The hand that had been shaking Ranma's shoulder withdrew and stopped. Snuffling into the pillow under his head, the martial artist mumbled. "Five more minutes" and went back to sleep. Suddenly a shower of ice-cold water hit the dozing boy. Springing up with his eyes still closed in an automatic reaction. Ranma reached out to throw Genma out of the tent and far away from him when a heavy hand to his chest stopped his rise. Quickly his eyes sprang open and saw Teresa with a glass in one hand and the other on his chest. He was in the room he had woken up originally at the house of Maeneil and Regeana. A thick blue blanket covered him from neck to toes. Standing at the right side of the bed Teresa was reaching for another glass of water from the pitcher, which stood beside the bed to make sure that Ranma had really woken up. Teresa stopped when she saw his eyes pop open.

"We thought you were unconscious when we got you away from the hunter, but when you started snoring. We stopped worrying and let you sleep." Shoving a hand through his loose hair Ranma scratched his head and felt a sore bump.

"Umm what happened? I was wolf and there was loony guy with tranquillizer gun. Hey! he stabbed me." With a shout, Ranma reached to his neck but all he could feel was a thin raised line were the gunman had stabbed him.

"You were really lucky, Maeneil heard you and asked the other idiots what had happened to you. When we found the trail of blood we were able to reach you as the hunter was carrying you through the forest." Pulling back the damp blanket over him, Ranma squeaked and dragged it back up to his neck when he realized he wasn't wearing anything underneath it.

"What happened?" Teresa laughed at the look on Ranma's face. It was priceless.

"You changed back into human form so you could heal. We do it unconsciously if hurt greatly enough. Gavin caught the hunter that nabbed you when he dumped you and tried to make a run for it. So don't worry about him. Umm the boys can get a little violent when someone trespasses our property." Ranma reached for a glass of water. Familiarity with knockout drugs told him he had a nasty case of cottonmouth.

"I still remember that trapper about fifty years ago that laid traps on the west edge of the property. Maeneil caught him when he was setting up a trip wire. He gave the man every chance to get away. If he couldn't run with a bear trap on his leg then it wasn't Maeneil's fault." Teresa had an evil grin on her face and Ranma wondered 'What would she have done to the trapper?' He dragged the blanket around his body and crept out of the bed. "So you don't like hunters then?" Teresa smiled coldly and nodded her head.

"Not around here we don't. Maeneil wants you to go up to his office after you have a shower and clean up. Also you're to bring him any thing that you think will help tell him where you come from and can sort out this mess." Teresa grinned as Ranma tried to keep the blanket up.

"Okay."

_/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/_

'Aver had mentioned before that the offices were upstairs near the main bedrooms. Luckily Teresa had explained where exactly Maeneil's room was.' Ranma quickly found it. In one hand, he had the papers and his passport that he had taken from his father. Today his t-shirt read _'When in doubt empty the magazine'_ in black writing on a grey background. Underneath that, he wore a black skivvy and baggy dark green pants. Inside he could hear someone he presumed was Maeneil moving around. Knocking on the door Ranma stepped in quickly and saw the leader of the lycans sitting in a modern office. It looked completely out of place in the room. Thick rugs covered a hard wood floor, a large window that was partly made of lead lined stained glass was shinning light on the dark haired lycan who was sitting in front of a computer and printer typing away. When he heard Ranma enter his head popped up over the computer and he gestured to a seat opposite him at his desk. Absentmindedly the grey lycan kept typing and spoke in English. "You know after two hundred years of spreading rumors and stories about what happens to people who wander in our forest the locals tend to stay away. The big signs we have up around the boundary fence telling people they will be prosecuted and disemboweled tend to make most hikers and tourists turn back but there are always those that think the rules don't apply to them." Ranma put the papers on Maeneil's desk.

"Thanks for umm stopping that guy. I can't believe I let them shoot me. I should been able to take him."

"It's Gavin and Aver you should thank. They were the ones that managed to stop the guy before he got away with you. Though I wish they hadn't been so enthusiastic."

"So you think that guy was just hunter?" Maeneil stopped typing for a moment.

"Well, we're not sure. Someone who shall remain nameless killed him before we could ask him what he was doing in our woods. All we found on the guy afterwards was a set of car keys, and his weapons."

"What no ID not even a laundry ticket?"

"No, just the car keys but we were able to follow his trail back to the fence on the east edge of the property bordered by a river. He must have thought it would cover his scent. I have checked the four-wheel drive we found, it's a rental, and some one called John Smith rented it. I may be able to get more info."

"So you no idea why guy was trying to catch me?"

"Not quite, But if you can describe what happened I might have a better idea what he was doing on my property." Ranma shifted in the soft leather of the office chair.

"Well, I was running with Aver and Gavin and then landed in this bush that was filled with thorns. Have you thought about spraying for weeds?" Maeneil just gave Ranma a look to tell him to get on with it. "Anyway, kept running when I stopped to pick burrs out of feet. I turned back into wolf form and a dart flew by head and hit the tree I was leaning against."

"So you were human before you were shot at."

"Yeah, the guy had night vision goggles so he would have seen me. Followed the path of the dart and there was this guy with a dart gun on a hill. He nearly walked into me when I was watching him. So I had to do something."

"What happened?"

"I tried to keep him onthe ground, and hoped he would leave when I bit him." Maeneil concerned looked at Ranma.

"So you didn't want to kill the intruder, just beat him, and send him away." Ranma thought about what he had been thinking last night.

"Yeah, but somehow he held me off and stabbed me. As I tried run, the bastard got me with gun. I ran but I think I collapsed pretty quickly." With a sigh, Ranma looked up into the air. 'Why is it that people are always trying to drug me?'

Maeneil picked up the dart gun, which was leaning against the table next to his seat. "You said that you changed into a wolf before the dart hit. So you were human for a time before the first dart."

"Umm yeah. Why?"

"Well we have had hunters before try to take wolves alive to sell to zoos and private collectors but if he saw you as a human first why did he still try to take you."

"I not know, maybe thought he could make money off me like Pop." Pulling a small card of paper that was lying beside his keyboard. He handed it over to Ranma written on it in neat black writing in German was a physical description of two people. Maeneil told Ranma what the words meant.

_Male, 15 years, Asian, blue eyes,  
black hair. Seen with bald, middle-  
aged Asian man wearing a dirty  
white tracksuit with glasses, often drunk._

"So wasn't just some random hunter?" Maeneil pulled the paper back.

"No, when I found this slip of paper in the trespassers vehicle. I was nearly convinced he wasn't just a hunter but I wanted to hear what you had to say first." Ranma draws his hand through his hair.

"So what does this mean?"

"Someone wants you, for what ever reason and knows you are here."

"How could anyone know I was here?"

"They could have been following you since we picked you up. I don't know how but it's not safe for you here." Ranma thought 'The first real bed I had slept in months and Teresa's great food' he sighed 'I just knew I will have to leave it behind.'

"I'm sorry if I have caused you a problem. I didn't know." Maeneil smiled. "Don't worry about it. We have to look out for each other here. No one has previously tried to drug you and kidnap you before." Ranma though over everything he knew his father had done and wondered about what the old fart had done and hadn't told him.

"I don't think anyone has. Not lately any way." "If it is connected to you being here it happened very quickly and I think it would be a good idea that you left us before someone realizes their man is not coming back any time soon."

"You think it has anything to do with me becoming lycan?"

"I'd say there's a good chance when you consider the timing and where you are. I'm organizing some tickets and a place to stay for you. You don't have to worry." Ranma sighed 'I knew I would have to go.A plate of Teresa's peach pie floated in his mind and drifted away. 'Damn'' Maeneil finally paid attention to the papers that Ranma had brought him.

"I see that you have brought the papers of your father that I asked about." Pushing over the sheets of papers and passport, he hadn't yet had a chance to look at those. Ranma sighed.

"Fat bastard had these all together with our passports. I think they're important to him."

Opening the passport Maeneil read Ranma's full name and physical description with all the details you get in the front of a passport. Flicking through the pages, he saw several stamps. Picking up the papers, he noticed a certain familiarity begin to form in the way they were set out. Whether written in Mandarin, English, French, German, or Japanese they were all marriage contracts and in the dozen or so sitting on the table one Ranma Saotome was the groom. From Pickles to fire wood in exchange, it looked like Ranma was engaged to most of Europe and Asia's female population. After the tenth contract Maeneil started flicking through as soon as he could identify that they were the same. Finally at the bottom of the pile was a separate piece of paper older than the rest. It looked as though a child had finger painted all over the writing but Maeneil could make out the Japanese words. One Genma Saotome was to make Ranma Saotome a man amongst men or commit Seppuku as co-signed by Nodoka Saotome. The new contract before him was strange. 'Had this boy's mother, aunt, or grandmother, wished for Ranma to die? Besides that, after listening to Ranma's stories about his father. How could any women think he would be a good example for a "man amongst men" The contract at least gave a name to search for back in Japan.' Maeneil gathered the papers and passport a postcard that had been caught in the spine came loose and fell out on to the desk. On one side a girl with blond braids and goats around her ran down the side of a mountain written in French were the words _'Welcome to Switzerland._' On the other side was a badly written note telling someone named Tendo, 'We soon will be heading back to Japan.' It was addressed to Nerima district of Tokyo, Japan. 'This is helpful.'

Handing the papers over to Ranma Maeneil sighed. "Take a look for yourself. Did you know that you are engaged to over twenty girls and what I think is one Baboon but that just could be bad handwriting." Grabbing the papers Ranma glanced over those he couldn't read but saw the six or more that were written in Japanese.

"Eepp!" The contracts dealt with families up and down the islands of Japan. Ranma started to hyperventilate taking short shallow breathes "I . . . .can't . . . .marry . . . .this . . . many . . . girls." Maeneil laughed at the look on Ranma's face.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure the families will understand your problem and leave you alone. They'll understand that Genma's an idiot. They've all meet the man haven't they?" From somewhere Ranma got a paper bag and was breathing into it. "I think that there is a contract that has a female relative possibly your mothers name on it I can use that. And this postcard of your fathers has the address of someone who he obviously knows your father and they could have information about your mother." Giving these back to Ranma Maeneil set back to his computer. "I love the internet. In the past, it would take months for a letter to travel as far as an email travels in seconds. It makes information gathering so much easier." Ranma stopped hyperventilating and grit his teeth.

"Thank for looking at those. I saw different languages and knew I no have idea. I really want find my mother. I hope she has some answers."

Maeneil sighed 'The kid had only just discovered part of his heritage and I hoped the idea that begins to form in my mind is wrong and the poor guy could find some happy family back in Japan.'

"I have booked a plane tickets for you and Aver to go to another residence of ours. As you have only just come into your heritage, I feel you need to be around someone who can teach you. I know Aver can be very impetuous just make sure not to give him any large amounts of sugar."

"What about finding mother and who was gunman?"

"While you're with Aver I'll look for information about your mother and who the intruder was. Hopefully you can slip out of the house tonight under the notice of any one watching you." Maeneil started typing again and gestured for Ranma to leave. "I'll be down later with the flight info."

/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/

Once he put the papers back in his pack Ranma wandered back into the hall. At the television, he saw Aver and Hilo sitting on the couch watching. At the edge of his hearing, he could hear someone firing a weapon in the gun range and the sound of someone swimming in another room from his left. Walking towards the television that was showing some mid-day movie Ranma could hear the two lycans fighting. "Let me change the channel. This is just mind candy. It has no entertainment value." Aver who was sitting on his hands grinned.

"There is nothing wrong with soppy Hallmark movies." Hilo who was rubbing his eyes sighed.

"It's like being beaten to death with wet pillows. Just change the channel. Infomercials would be better."

"No" Hilo got up from the couch and walked up to the TV.

"You forced me to do this." With that, he flipped open the front panel and manually changed the channel. On the screen a young girl was lying in a hospital bed hooked up to a hundred wires while still looking like she just got out of the shower. That changed to a man explaining how your life would never be completely fulfilling if you didn't buy his steak knives.

"Hey, Aver I was wondering if you could tell me what happened last night. Where did the intruder go? No one told me." Aver who was just about to answer Hilo stopped when he saw Ranma, tackled Hilo away from the TV, and jumped up chucking the remote to Hilo, who had been holding down the button on the front of the TV.

"Okay Hilo, you can watch what you want. Ranma we can go up to my room I have this game I know you're going to love."

Settled back into the beanbag in front of Aver's TV Ranma watched, as he set up the machine. "Why did you guys just accept me? I could be a complete and utter loon for all you know." Aver flipped through a CD soft case.

"Well, everyone here is an uber strong were-wolf who has been trained as a warrior for hundreds of years. Therefore, no matter if you attack us we've got you out gunned. And you've got a trustworthy face." Ranma caught the controller Aver tossed him.

"What exactly happened in the forest?" Sitting back in another beanbag Aver started up the game.

"Me and Gavin were running around and heard you shout. So we headed straight to you. I haven't had this much fun in ages." Ranma laughed harshly

"I'm glad my near kidnap brought you pleasure."

"That's all right. I wonder if Maeneil will let you go with us when we have our next job. Anyway we reached you as this guy was carrying you towards the east boundary gate." "So he just slung me over a shoulder?"

"Yip, pretty much. You should have seen Gavin. I don't think he's been that angry since Teresa crashed his BMW."

"What happened?"

"Gavin was ahead of me and managed to rush him and get you out of his arms, you know you have a very thick head. I swear it bounced like ten times when the guy dropped you." Rubbing the back of his head Ranma winced. 'That explained the headache.' "I managed to stop you falling down a gully. While Gavin managed to stop the guy getting a hold of his gun but somehow he got a knife out. Not the smartest move around Gavin, he was angry and brought the guy down."

"What?"

"Oh don't worry. No one will ever find the guy's body. You're perfectly safe." Ranma looked at his friend in disbelief.

"Okay." Leaving the subject alone Ranma sighed. 'They should have given me a pamphlet or instructional video when I changed, telling me what being a lycan meant. I'm so confused.' "What you think about going away with me?" As they picked their characters and vehicles, Aver spoke. "I think it will be great fun. I haven't been to Belgium in ages. Umm chocolate." Aver begun to drool and Ranma just shook his head.

That evening Teresa and Regeana were sitting in the kitchen opposite to Ranma and Aver. Those two were stuffing their faces with chicken stew and dumplings Teresa had made for tea. "You can slip out now when we leave. We're going to drive into town. You can hide under the blanket in the back. Everyone else is going to make sure that if anyone is watching the house. They will think you're still inside. Do you understand?"

"Grumpghth." Teresa sighed and turned to Regeana.

"So you think we should let these two loose on Europe?" As Ranma cleared his mouth, he spoke.

"It's okay. I've been all over world traveling with Pop. How hard could traveling with Aver be?" Aver who had somehow gotten hold of Ranma's piece of dessert chocolate cake smiled.

"What don't you trust me? At over 350 years I'm as mature and responsible as an adult could get." With this, he stuffed the last of the cake in his mouth and smiled. Rubbing her nose Regeana sighed.

"Maeneil thinks that they will be all right. Just God help any one they meet." With that done, they got ready to leave.

Authors Note

The little poem at the top is an actual folkpoem.I didn't make it up I found it, and that is just one of the many different versions you can get.

Ranma is travelling with Aver around Europe to scape the follwers. I wonder what could happen.I feel a crossover coming on.

Thankyou very much for reviewing

Innortal: I had that chapter sitting for a little while my computer was down. Good idea with the Omake, but now i have a 1200 word story sitting on my computer and I can't think of an ending.

Jerry Unipeg

John on da' John: I agree my spelling is bad at times but there is worse,and I do have a pre-reader now so it is better.

borg rabbit: I can see mousse chasing wolf-ranma with flea powder smoke bombs when ever the Amazon's are mentioned. I think cologne will be very interested when she see's Ranma but what will she think of Aver?

**Please Review Just Push The Little Blue Button.**


	13. Where there is a will there is a family

Wild Wolf

Chapter Thirteen

**Where there is a Will there is a family.**

Language

"Japanese"  
:German:

(Author notes)

This chapter is dedicated to my fiftieth reviewer Innortal. Thank you so much for reviewing.

This chapter has been pre-read by Hiryo. Please check out his stories.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2. In fact, I have no idea who Ranma is, which may explain my stories.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

'Lamia: A female monster who was said to steal children and was a terror to nurses. In one account, Lamia was the daughter of Belus and Libya. Zeus had an affair with her, but every time she had a child, Hera arranged for it to die. Lamia hid herself away in a cave in despair she became a monster jealous of mothers more fortunate then herself, and she seized and devoured their children. In order to punish her yet more, Hera made it impossible for her to sleep, but Zeus gave her the power to take out her eyes and replace them when she whished.'

P. Grimal, The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Penguin, 1991, England. p, 236

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

A full moon lit an empty car park. The car park is used by the employees of the strip of stores in front of it. This included a small restaurant, butcher, and bakery. None of the shops was open and only a couple of dim security lights lit the expanse of tarmac. Grease stains and oil marks shone under the light as a cat ran out of an alley adjoining the car park. Inside the alley past the metal dumpsters filled with the restaurant called 'Papagei's garbage', shadows were moving. A voice reminiscent of warmth and comfort but tainted by a dark secret.

:Shhh, little one, be quiet I'm not going to hurt you.: A small whimper could be heard. :Hush little one. I only want to make you happy.: After a rustling of a paper bag. :See my precious. I brought you a doll, a pretty doll just like my pretty girl. You can call her Sarah.: From the alley someone starts to cry. :Oh, no don't do that. Hush little baby. I'll sing to you and Sarah can listen too. How would you like that:

The crying intensifies, and the voice begins to sing. :Hush little baby don't say a word. Mummy's going to buy you a Mocking bird. If that Mocking bird won't sing, Mummy's going to buy you a Diamond ring. If that Diamond ring won't shine . . . .: The little girls cries aren't stopping in fact they are getting louder. :Oh, why won't you stop crying my precious? Look Sarah's not crying. See:

:I . . .I . .want my Mummy.:

:But I am your Mummy sweet, and we're going to live happily ever after. You Sarah and I.:

:You're not my Mummy! You're a bad lady:

:Now, proper little ladies don't talk to their mother that way. Of course I'm your Mother.:

The little girl began to scream. :Mummy, Mummy, Mummy.:

:NO, NO, NO, you are to stop that! Stop that now! Be QUIET: There is a resounding thud from the alley. The little girl's screams stopped instantly.

:Now, that's better. Isn't it? See Sarah she's all-quiet now. We can be a happy family.: From the darkness, a thin thread of color leaks down the alley, leading to the car park. The bright red shines under the security lights.

Someone begins to sing. :Hush little baby don't say a word. Mummy's going to buy you a Mocking bird. If that Mocking bird won't sing, Mummy's going to buy you a Diamond ring. If that Diamond ring won't shine, Mummy's going to buy you a looking glass. If that Looking Glass gets broke. . . .:

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

"So why are we here again?"

Aver was jumping up and down to the heavy beat of the music pumping through the club. "Cause you're boring and we haven't had any fun. Also because I'm older than you and you have to do what I say."

Ranma expected him to stick out his tongue at that point but instead Aver laughed and headed back into the crowed dance floor bouncing off the other club patrons. Ranma watched Aver as he grabbed a slim brunette by the waist and started dancing with her, when she left him he didn't care and just moved on to the next girl.

'It has been fun. To travel around Europe like they were. It had to be the complete opposite of the same trip with the old fart. Instead of sleeping in places listed on Europe's top ten death traps, we had been able to camp out at the various houses the Lycan's owned. It had been great for the past couple of months we had been traveling around and once a week I would get an update from Maeneil about what he had found out about my Mum.'

'The erratic lessons in German held me in good stead when we had ended up in Austria. Though Aver's method of teaching me, by dumping me in the middle of a train station, and leaving with all our money did remind me vaguely of my Pop. However, he did give me a phone number. Thankfully, I am passable in English or I may still be standing in the main train station in Berlin.'

'The houses all have gyms, so I could keep practicing.  
If it's selfish of me, I don't care, but I kind of hope it will take a while longer for them to discover anything about my mother.' Ranma watched Aver bounce off another girl and get a drink. 'I like it in Vienna. We've been here for a week and Aver won't tell me why but nothing bad has happened yet. It is peaceful. We've done the tourist thing and visited Prater with its funfair, woods, and Vienna zoo. I actually feel like a teenager not like Genma's scapegoat.'

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

"I've got a lovely bunch of Coconuts, big ones, small ones some as big as your head." Ranma keep an arm around Aver. While the other Lycan swayed from side to side in time with his song. It was the early morning and Ranma was carefully taking Aver back to the Lycan's home in Vienna, located in the fourth district Wieden.

Earlier in the day, when Ranma had been practicing his martial arts in a local park, Aver had run off and bought the entire stock of a local sweet store. He came back with arms full of 'Sachertorte' (Sacher cake) and a bag of the marzipan-chocolate treats 'Mozartkugeln' (Mozart balls).

It hadn't taken him long to finish his horde. Ranma then had to deal with a sugar high Aver. Being a tourist with a hyperactive Aver was strange. In more then one way is a sugar high Aver more irritating than a whiny child but it was only in the early afternoon that Aver began drinking. Claiming he was going to play 'Atlas', otherwise known as 'around the world in 80 drinks.'

He had started drinking Austrian beer in one bar, had moved on to Scottish whisky, Mexican Tequila, Russian Vodka, American Bourbon, English Gin, Australian Beer, New Zealand wine. Moreover, he had still been going strong at 3:00 am when they had been kicked out of the bar.

'If he had not been a Lycan, I would expect that Aver would have needed his stomach pumped. At the rate of his drinking and for the simple fact, Aver had never done this before while I have been with him. I knew there was more to that, than a simple drinking binge.'

". . . and a giraffe if you stand on a stool but a hedgehog can never be buggered at all." They were on a quiet street and the apartment was just around the corner.

Ranma poked Aver. "Come on, we're almost home." Aver wobbled along.

"You know Ranma I love you."

"That's nice." The streetlights shone on the wet concrete and Ranma carefully led Aver to the door of the building.

"No it's true. You're the bestest. . ." Ranma wiped the side of his face as Aver tried to say a word with too many s's ". . .friend ever, and I don't know why some loony bastards would ever want to hurt you."

As Ranma leant a wobbly Aver against a wall, to get to the door. A noise caught his attention. Further down the street, a dark car had parked and no one was getting out. Wondering why his senses had even noticed this, Ranma pushed the keys into the door, to be stopped when he heard another noise. Several people had gotten out of the car, which was twenty meters down the road, and were walking quietly and slowly, in his direction.

Shaking his head, he couldn't tell why these strangers movements were catching his eye. As they got closer, he could see four men dressed in casual black jeans and t-shirts they didn't look threatening to the casual eye. However, it wasn't good. It's not paranoia if they really are after you.

Ranma pushed the security door open quickly and went to grab Aver who had slid down the wall and was lying spread out over the footpath. "Why is the sky spinning?"

"We all wonder that, now get up Aver." Grabbing an arm, Aver lay limp in his hands not helping. The people from the car were getting closer and Ranma was not getting fluffy happy thoughts from their presence. "Aver move your arse."

Aver complained as he slowly stumbled to his knees and then his feet, leaning heavily on Ranma.

"Oh I think I'm going to be sick." He said his face lime green. Ranma groaned and leant away from the blonde Lycan while still holding him up.

"Please just hold on until we get inside and you can puke till your hearts content then." Aver groaned and clutched his stomach. "Think happy thoughts, happy thoughts." Shoving an arm around Aver's chest Ranma went to push his way to safety inside the apartment block. Stepping through the open door, he was stopped when a hand grasped his shoulder.

:Excuse me Sir but are you Mr. Anderson: Ranma recognized the name that Maeneil used in some of his business deals and Ranma had seen it on some of the plane tickets they had brought. Asking him about one of Maeneil's aliases. 'What the hell is going on?'

:Ahhh no, I'm a little bit busy, but if you could come back tomorrow: Ranma looked down at Aver who had passed from lime green to grass green. :Better make that tomorrow afternoon.: There was a groan from Aver. :After two at least.:

:I am sorry but that will not be acceptable.: With this, the man standing next to the speaker stood forward and placed a hand on Ranma's other shoulder. With a hand on both his shoulders, the men attempted to pull Ranma backwards, away from the open door.

:Hey stop that, I told yah come back tomorrow.: Trying to shrug the arms off while still holding Aver up Ranma failed, and the men kept pulling him backwards away from the open door. Aver was being dragged backwards with Ranma and looked decidedly unwell. :Look push off.: One of the men not holding Ranma reached to his waist and pulled something out of his pocket, pushing it into Ranma's side. Dropping Aver, Ranma slammed a hand down on the threatening arm, faster than the other men could react. The two men who had grasped his shoulders clutched harder and pushed down onto the martial artist.

:Go away: Ranma slid out from under the hands and swung away from the men who had gathered around him.

:Just go away: With out speaking the mysterious men stepped forward and crowded around Ranma, walking over the whimpering body of Aver who looked ready to explode. Grasping an outreached arm of one of the men Ranma lifted him in a throw smashing his body into two of the other men and knocking them down. The men left standing both reached for their waists for guns like the one that they had used to threatened Ranma before.

:Can't you hear me leave me alone: Those he had just knocked down clambered to their feet and surrounded him in a rough circle. Rising their hand, those with guns aimed them at Ranma's head. 'Oh what the hell is going on? Why are they doing this, and how they hell do I get them away from Aver and me?' With that in mind, Ranma sprang upwards before the men could aim and landed feet first on the shoulders of one of those holding a gun slamming him into the ground alone by force.

A misfired gun passed a bullet by his ear and Ranma could feel the breeze. 'There are five of them with guns. No matter how fast I can move now, I can't dodge five bullets. There has to be someway I can get them to leave.' Next to their apartment sat an expensive boutique its large glass front windows protected with metal fold down screens.

As Ranma bounced off the shoulders of the downed man, he thought, 'That boutique it must have an alarm, if I can break it everyone on the street is going to know about these idiots. I just hope I can do it soon.'

As another of the men fired his weapon at the bouncing martial artist Ranma bent over the man he had downed and picked him up, catching the bullet in the unconscious man's back he winced .

'Oww that's got a hurt. Oh well, better him then me.' Swinging the man backwards, Ranma threw the attacker straight at the metal security window like a sack of wheat. The metal curtain protecting the boutique was punched inwards by the thick head of the attacker, who if he wasn't unconscious before certainly was now.

As soon as the sound of glass breaking could be heard, a piercing wail filled the street from an electric alarm. At the look of shock on his attacker's faces, Ranma laughed and slammed the last gun pointed at him into the ground stepping on the barrel and crushing it to be sure.

:I would leave if I were you.: Lights from the other apartment blocks on the street were coming on and Ranma could hear people getting closer. The incompetent attackers began to walk backwards away from Ranma picking up their downed colleague on the way. Ranma quickly forgot about the retreating men as he ran back to Aver, who was lying on the footpath staring up at the sky.

"Aver, Aver wake up."

"Ranma I don't feel well." With this statement, the blonde Lycan leant over and puked over Ranma's shoes.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

Through the open window of the girl's bedroom, she could see a cat climb a nearby tree. :Bea if your lights still on when I get up there. You're not going to be watching T.V for a week.:

The little girl's long brown hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, which swung in her rush to turn off her bedside light. Sighing she hid her book she had been reading under her bed. 'I wish I lived in a castle like Schoenbrunn palace, with balls and parties. So, I could have a prince, who would dance with me. Just like what happens in the story.'

She watched a beam of moon light pass through the open curtains and staining her carpet grey. 'If I lived in a castle no one could tell me to go to bed, and I could read as long as I wanted.' Grumpily Bea pulled her bedspread over her nose and watched the moon shadows on the roof 'till she fell asleep.

Bea was good girl she always brushed her teeth and wore clean underwear. She never forgot her homework and her Mum only had to tell her twice for her to get up in the morning. Therefore, it really wasn't fair that outside her window a figure sat watching Bea as her chest rose and fell with each sleeping breath. The figure smiled it was her baby, she had found her at last and now she had found her she was going to take ever so good care of her.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

The street that Aver had leaded them too was filled with trees and their overhanging branches nearly covered the road from light. They had traveled to Vienna's eighth district Josefstadt, and the house is large and imposing.

In the shadow of the trees, Ranma followed Aver to an impressive house. The two story home fit into the upper class neighborhood. The home was modern with glass windows and steel pillars its main components. A short drive way led to a gravel area in front of the home and large peach colored concrete pillars led to its entrance. Tall concrete walls encircled the house and Aver grinned up at the palatial home.

"You know it brings a tear to the eye to see the old family plantation." With a weak sniff, Aver lifted a hand to the house."

"Is there where we're going to stay tonight?"

"Maybe, after last night, and I am so sorry by the way if I had have been able to I would have done something. We can't stay at the apartment and since they know about Maeneil so we can't use the credit card with his name on it." Ranma looked at the home and mumbled under his breath.

"Yeah you would have spewed all over them. . . So why are we here?"

"I thought we might be able to get some cash. This is where my lovely descendants have settled down. Well the one's I could be bothered keeping up with."

"Won't they be kind of surprised when their great, great, great, great grandfather turns up?"

"Sounds like a new reality T.V show doesn't it. Don't worry, I'm like the nice funny Uncle and have been for hundreds of years. I turn up once in a while get to give everyone presents. All the kids love me. All the fun of having kids and not having to change a single dirty nappy."

Ranma seemed to be thinking as he looked on. "So does this mean that at some point in time a women was drunk enough to shack up with you." Aver tried to swipe Ranma around the back of the head.

"Hey I'm not that bad in fact most women find me quite attractive." Aver puffed up and buffed his fingernails against his t-shirt. Ranma just laughed.

"When did you first leave?" Aver frowned, "Well I was not driven out in front of an angry mob if you're wondering. I lost most of my family in the bubonic plague of 1676. The people we are going to visit they're descended from my sister. She and her husband had left Vienna and lived outside the city.

"Well it wasn't the most pleasant of times so I decided to leave and it wasn't long after that I ran into Maeneil."

As they neared the front door, Ranma's wolf stirred there was something about the house a scent he could not place, but it made his neck itch. Breathing in deeply he couldn't find it again. Shaking his head, he ignored it and followed Aver's lead.

Reaching the door Aver reached for the large cast-iron doorknob and knocked. Hilary Bona opened the door too see two boys. The elder whose blonde head was staring up at her in a wide grin was wearing a bright orange t-shirt with the words 'Everyone has a price - Mines $3.95.' on them, his dark blue jeans were scuffed, and she could see a rip in the left leg. Beside him quietly stood a much younger boy, whose hair was instantly noticeable, the sliver tips shining in the sunlight against the pitch black of the rest of his hair and his black t-shirt, which said. 'Funny I don't remember being absentminded'. He looked like such a nice boy. Not like the other.

:How can I help you: The blonde boy's smiled widened.

:Is that you Hilly? It's me your Uncle Aver.: Hilary Bona gaped at the long lost relative she hadn't seen in ten years.

:You can't be Uncle Aver he would be in his forties by now.: Aver pushed his way past the stunned women.

:Good diet, good exercise it's amazing what they can do these days. . . Oohhh T.V.: Aver waved a vague hand on the air as he walked into the foyer of the large home and into their living room straight to the two towel-haired kids playing on a play station.

Ranma followed Aver but stopped in front of Mrs. Bona.  
:We're sorry for interrupting. My name's Ranma. Aver just wanted to say Hi.:

From behind him, Ranma suddenly heard Aver shout out. :Can I play, please, please:

:I haven't seen Uncle Aversor in years. I am a little surprised to see him here.: She winced when she heard the two boys start yelling about their new uncle cheating.

:He doesn't seem to have changed.: Ranma smiled at the poor women,

:Oh Aver never changes he just wanted to see his family.: Sighing Hilary Bona brought an arm up and pointed through an open door.

:Why don't you help me with the tea and you can answer a few questions.:

Ranma followed Aver's adult female relative through to her kitchen, which opened out to a large dining room. After making a hot drink and checking on Aver and the boys who are called Alex and Max. Mrs. Bona heard from Ranma the story thought up by Aver that morning, when he had regained consciousness and it had been decided they needed to leave the flat.

They were passing through Vienna on a holiday. Ranma was a son of a friend of Aver's and the older man was taking him on a holiday during his school break. They had been staying at a motel but their money had been stolen while they were visiting the Prater Park. So Aver was here to borrow some money so that they could pay the motel bills and wait to get some money sent by Ranma's father.  
They had plane tickets booked for the next day and they just needed enough to cover the last day in Vienna.

(It was not a perfect cover story. Remember Aver and Ranma thought it up. Therefore, it was semi-believable.)

From the resigned look on Hilary Bona's face Ranma thought she recognized Aver's bulldozer style of people management. She told Ranma that her husband was at work and would not be back untill later, she had taken the day off to look after the sick twins who had comedown with a tummy bug. Her daughter was at school and would be home soon.

When they heard shouting from the living room the both of them rushed in to find the boys red nosed and laughing bouncing all over the room. :We beat Uncle Aver. We beat Uncle Aver.:

Aver was hunched over the television staring at the Game Over sign. :Not fair rematch.: Aver declared as he stood up and grabbed one of the bouncing twins swinging him through the air.

Hilary exclaimed:Just like I remember him.: With a quite word, Ranma asked if he could check out her backyard, while she calmed the sick hyperactive boys down.

In the Bona's backyard, it was a child's playground filled with backyard toys. Ranma settled down into a swing. He could list on one hand the number of times he had the chance to just play, and be a kid. It had always been something to do with his training. He never got time to be just himself. Pushing off with his legs, he forced himself higher and higher into the air until he was flying up to the top of the swing.

From behind him, Ranma's enhanced hearing heard an indrawn breath. Letting go of the swing he flew through the air to land at the base of a plastic slide. Once he turned around, he saw a little brown haired girl. :Hi, you must be Alex and Max's sister.:

The little girl froze when she realized that there was a strange boy in her back yard. :I'm Bea, I'm six who are you:

Ranma smiled:My names Ranma, I'm fifteen, a friend of your Uncle Aver.:

:You're old, and I don't have an Uncle Aver, but if you give me a lolly then I won't yell for my Mum.:

:Your Mum knows I'm out here and I don't have any lollies.: Bea wandered around the backyard staring at Ranma as she stayed away from him.

: I have a book it's about a princess do you want me to read it to you: Scratching his head Ranma smiled. The kid kind of reminded him of Aver.

:Umm sure.:

:. . .and then the beautiful Princess Bea climbed onto her unicorn that only ate candyfloss, and left the horrible land of grumps behind. The End.: Bea had pulled a book out of her school back pack and dragged Ranma to a small children's seat, from there she had spun a story Ranma didn't think quite matched the book.

:That's a really good story.:

:My mummy says I show great Ar . .tis . . tic Li . .cence, I don't know what that means but I think it means that my story is art.:

Ranma smiled at the little girl her hair had been tied back in a tight ponytail but most of her hair had now escaped and flying around her face. When she turned a page of her book, the splash of red finger paint on her nose would shine in the sunlight. She really did remind him of Aver. It was something in the eyes. Moreover, the fact she had been pulling assorted sweets out of her backpack once she sat down and by the time she had stopped her story, she was bouncing up and down on her seat, was another clue she was relation of Aver.

After finishing the story Bea began taking her schoolwork out of her bag and showing Ranma, proud of the colored stickers she had gotten for her spelling and maths.

When Bea's mother came out the back door to see what Ranma was doing and to ask if he had seen her daughter, she found the two of them on the swings.  
:Well, I think Aver is getting ready to leave now. Hello Bea how was school:

The little girl squealed and jumped off the swing in an attempt to mimic Ranma. Ranma who saw her attempt was out of his swing and had caught the girl before she hit the ground. The little girl yelled and scrambled down from the older boys arms and ran to her mother.

:Mum, mum, Ranma can do handstands and he showed me how, watch me do a handstand, watch me do a handstand, watch me do a handstand.: Bea knelt down and stuck her legs up in the air immediately falling over.

:Watch me do a handstand, watch me do a handstand.: Mrs. Bona grabbed the little girl around the waist and lifted her into the air.

:You can say goodbye to your Uncle Aver before he leaves then its bath time for you.: The little girl scowled, her mother saw this.

:After you get out of the bath, you can read for an hour.:

:Okay.:

Ranma found Aver in the kitchen sitting behind a cup of coffee while the two boys climbed all over him .

:Uncle Aver said that we smell, and that you should have swapped us for a bag of puppies when we were little.:

It didn't take long after that for Ranma and Aver to be out the door and walking down the street. "So you've warped some little kids minds, cool. But did you get the money before hand."

"Sure, I think I like this generation, a hundred years ago I would have never got any money out of them. There was this aunt she had this mole right on the end of her nose. Some times, I wish I could forget it all."

"That's good. Now what are we really doing?"

"I'm going to call Maeneil. He's going to get another credit card to us. I love over night UPS. We stay in a Hotel Sacher tonight," Avers mouth watered already on the thought on more 'Sachertorte' " which I had to tell Hilly about. And then we can leave and I won't have to see my relatives for another forty years."

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

Bea had had so much fun today. She learnt how to make a handstand and Ranma said if she practiced, she would be able to do a rolly polly. Nevertheless, she had to practice. Today at school, she had painted this really good picture and her mum had put it up on the fridge. Now she was sitting up in bed, reading her book. 'I hope Ranma comes back and shows me how to make a rolly polly.'

Outside perched in the tree in the Bona's garden a dark figure stared at Bea. Her brown hair shined with golden highlights under the bedside light. It was her baby. She had looked so hard for her. Now she had found her. Her window was open to catch the last of a summer breeze and once she knew her baby was asleep, it did not take long for her to be crouched over her softly breathing baby.

Placing a cold hand on the little girls face, she flinched involuntarily in her sleep. :Hush little baby don't say a word. Mummy's going to buy you a mocking bird. . .:

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

". . .So when the father says 'Doh'. It's not an actual word."

"Yes." Aver was attempting to teach Ranma English with the helpful aid of The Simpson's. While Ranma stared at the hotel room's television and tried to understand. The room's phone began to ring. Aver handed Ranma list of words he had been writing on a hotel notepad.

"Just try and memorize these words."

Ranma started reading through the list. "Hey, is Cowabunga a word?" Aver spoke over his shoulder as he went to pick up the phone.

"Ahhh that's for tomorrow morning when I introduce you to American cartoons. . . .Hi Hilly, what are you up too? . . .What? . . .No we haven't seen her. . . .I'm sure you'll find her . . Can we help? . . .Oh of course, . . .we'll be over right away." Ranma looked up from the television when he smelt Aver's fear.

"What is it?"

"Bea's gone missing we're going over to help."

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO

Authors Note

This will be a two-chapter story line hopefully, which will lead directly into them going to China. He will get back to Japan within the next four chapters pinkie swear.

Aversor is Aver's full first name. A latin word I like the sound of.

Hiryo my pre-reader has helped heaps with my info on Vienna a beautiful city I hope I can include more in the next chapter.

Thank you for reviewing:

Silverscale, Jerry Unipeg: Thank you

Innortal: I tired to email you the Omake but it didn't work. You will learn more about Ranma's past and all the nasty stuff done to him by both Nodoka and Genma in a couple of chapters. I can just see their first meeting now. "No son of mine needs a flea collar."

Wonderbee31: He will get to Japan, and the meeting I want to see is the Tendo's.

Borg Rabbit: Thank you for defending my story against the flamers. Why is that they are always unsigned? I would have loved to have done a cross over with the 'River of the Dancing Gods' if I knew what it was. What I am crossing over with will become clear in the final chapter of this story arch. Thanks again.

Please review, the little blue button is below you.


	14. Travel, Meet New People, and Kill Them

_Wild Wolf_

_Chapter Fourteen_

**Strange Encounters**

I have a yahoo group set up now for my stories, for updates and other items that are not on Fanfiction, please check it out. Just take the spaces out.

http/ groups. yahoo. com/ group/ phorcysfanfiction

Now Pre-read by Hiryo, please check out his stories.

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 does not belong to me in any shape or form. But as soon as the lightning strikes, I will have my own Ranma to play with.

"English"  
:German:  
'Thought.'

"I think," he said slowly "that the only reason people think you can't kill a vampire by shoving its head up its own arse is because nobody's ever actually tried it. What do you think guys"  
My Hero -Tom Holt

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

The bright streetlights shone on a busy scene. People passed back and forth, their sounds creating a gentle undercurrent of noise. At 'Schwedenplatz' late night cafe's and busy bars like 'Bermuda Dreieck' and 'Sofia's Bar' spilled out on the paths and their music mixed and blended with the sound of the city.

Passing through the living crowds a black form slid easily from person to person. Dressed all in black, his long hair was pulled back in a tight braid and if you glanced quickly, it gave the appearance of short hair. A tight cut suede jacket dulled the light shining from the bright store signs above. Over his shoulder a tube the type used for posters and architectural designs rested, swinging with his wide strides.

From his movements he didn't seem to be walking with a purpose while he passed quickly but carefully through the crowds, stopping occasionally to glance in a window of a restaurant as though he was to meet a friend and had forgotten where exactly.

Following a trail only he could see the man paid little attention to what was going on around him. 'Till he came to the entrance of an underground station that stood open, long after the service should have been shut down. No one else paid this attention, except for the man in black. The metal gates were open less then a meter but when the man reached the gates, he could easily enough force his way in. The gates bright security lights illuminated the short stairwell and barriers leading to the platform.

Posters advertising Smirnoff and a local production of Tosca brightened up the otherwise cold municipal structure.

The glass booth of the station attendant and security guards was empty and the neon sign, which usual displayed the passing of the trains, was quiet. The man walked down the stairs making slowly his way to the platform. The metal doors muted the noises of the outside world. As the man neared the corner of the stairwell he paused and placed a hand on the tube hanging across his back. The creature he was following was not in first view. They were not on the station floor but somewhere in the building.

He carefully searched the public section of the station. Finding nothing he went to the door at the end marked 'employees only.' Through it he could hear noises slight but unmistakable of some one chewing. With his hearing, he could tell the position of the person beyond his view.

Spinning around the corner and through the door, the man in black ran down the hallway lined with doors to the male figure wearing a uniform that sat at the end of the hall leaning against the wall.

Everything pointed to her being here.

His movement was so fast that it was only as he reached the sitting figure he realized he was very dead. No one missing that much of his upper chest could be alive. No blood pooled around the dead body and the air was free from the taint of corruption. The dead man was dressed in the remains of a grey uniform. He could just make out the words :Cleaning: on the left breast pocket. It looked like someone should have called in sick to work tonight.

As soon as he saw this, the man in black looked around him and was caught unaware when from above a ghoul descended. Caught on his left shoulder he ducked with the blow turning to face his attacker. Behind him standing precariously on the half eaten body the ghoul bore little resemblance to the women it once was. The dirty grey woolen jersey and black dress slacks were ripped and had not been washed in long time. What was left of a French braid slid around her face clotted with dried blood and dirt. Behind the dull grey eyes looking on him no one dwelled, all attention focused on the one who had tried to steal her meal.

He had been close, she was a ghoul but she wasn't the one he was looking for, but it didn't look like it would accept his apologies. :Mine . . .: It hissed and sprang.

Without a word he reached for the leather tube hanging from his shoulder and before the creature could reach him, he held a long sword, it was not flashy, but it was very sharp. No bright jewels decorated it, but he had cut through steel with the blade. He just looked terribly, terribly efficient at his job.

Before the ghoul could stop its flight, she was lying in two pieces in the hall and grasping at her spilled intestines. It did not take much effort for the man to quarter the ghoul's skull ending its pitiful existence while it was busy with his first cut. Standing in the hallway with the two dead bodies the man in black sighed, he had been so sure that it was the Lamia or at least would know something but there hadn't been enough consciousness left in its head to make a phone call.

Suddenly a voice sounded in the hallway. "Hey D, she was pretty cute for a flesh eating zombie."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The strips of shops were busy with the early evening's customers. They had reached 'Mariahilfer Strasse.' Cars were parked in front of the take away and video stores. Ranma stood staring at the food people were leaving with beside him a large grey German Shepard sat or that's what he told the couple of girls that had asked him to pat it.

They had been trying to track a trail from Aver's family home last night and both felt decidedly nasty, but they kept searching. Aver had more experience controlling himself around so many humans in wolf form as well had tried to trace the scent Ranma had first noticed at the home.

From the tree outside Bea's room, the older lycan followed the trail through the next-door neighbor's backyard to the street beyond but lost it 100m down the road. Luckily, later that after noon when they were checking out the local parks Aver had found a trace of the scent, which Ranma agreed with him, smelled like three-week-old carrion.

After stops and starts, as Aver though he had lost it, they had found a trail leading to this strip of stores. During that time, Ranma had to explain why he was walking through people's backyards with a wolf. It was very faint, the passage of time and people had nearly covered it but as it was such a distinct scent Aver could just find it. And that was why they were now standing outside the strip of stores.

Knowing that Aver would hear him through the noise of the customers, Ranma spoke softly "So it's behind the stores." Aver whined. Trying to be tactful Ranma spoke, "she could still be alive, and this proves nothing." They had left the house that morning after meeting Bea's father who had been holding his wife while he talked to two police officers.

They had searched the house when Hilary had not found her daughter when she had gone to tuck her in. It was only after checking the house and the next-  
door neighbors that they began to seriously panic and after she had called the police, she had phoned Aver.

Ranma thought about the look on her face as she had handed over a photo of her daughter to the police. Explaining it had been taken at her best friends sixth birthday and she had been wearing her favorite red dress. She looked as though the sky had fallen and her world now focused on only one thing. It made him wonder if his mother had ever wondered what he was doing, if she worried about him being missing for nearly ten years. His memories of her were so faint, he whished that she had loved him, and maybe still did. However, if she did why did she let him go?

Aver had lost some of his hyperactive attitude as through the day they didn't learn of Bea's location. Now it was nearly twenty -four hours since she had disappeared and everyone was becoming more tense and afraid. Ranma worried about Aver what he will do when they found Bea.

Whatever had been sitting in the tree outside Bea's room had not been human. Ranma could smell through the stench a taint. That reminded him of fireworks and stung the back of his nose harshly. The wolf wanted to rip and tear apart the one who had harmed a cub. To the wolf, it was unnatural and he found it very hard to control his need to attack someone. If he had been in wolf form, he didn't know if his control would have been strong enough to stop him from hurting someone. He hated being out of control of his own actions.

They followed a driveway around the back of the shops to a small car park filled with the cars from the employees. A security light shone on the cars, and rubbish bins that sat in the little car park. Ranma followed Aver's path to an alley that ran along the side of the restaurant, which sat at the end of the row of shops. Aver sped up when he was halfway across the car park and darted in between the parked cars leaving Ranma behind. Racing after him Ranma's wolf sense caught what Aver had smelt, blood.

Ranma bounded over the parked cars not bothering to run around following closely behind the grey wolf to the alley. No lights shone in the alley, but to Ranma's eyes, he could see the large rubbish tip sitting against the wall. The wolf was making his lips pull away from his teeth. The smell was so strong in the alley. A combination of the stench they had been following and human blood, it overpowered the rotting food. Aver was quietly walking to the far side of the rubbish container where they could not pierce the darkness.

Ranma runs closely behind Aver. Suddenly Aver's body flew backwards into him sending him sprawling on the alley floor. Someone had been behind the rubbish tip. Snarling Ranma could not control it any longer he changed in the darkness of the alley. His form slid like smoke from boy to wolf in the blink of an eye. Behind him, Aver was shaking his head and standing up. The tall figure who's form was almost hidden in the darkness, pulled from his back a long sword, plain and unadorned but very sharp.

Ranma's muzzle drew back in a snarl, and he lunged at the figure narrowly missing the fast movement of the man's blade. He darted backwards as Aver ran up on the man's side, and snapped at his outreached arm catching the jacket the man was wearing with his teeth and hanging for a second before falling back. Ranma dove in low at the sword wielding man, aiming for his ankles and hamstring.

While Aver got back up and went high catching the man inside his range, making the sword ineffective that close. Dropping the weapon the man slammed a knee into Ranma's chest and placed a hand under Aver's neck in an attempt to force him away. Without the proper leverage, he was unable to throw Aver away from him but the force of his knee, drove Ranma away spinning him across the alley and into the metal rubbish tip. Bringing his free arm around, the man sought to grasp Aver's neck through his thick neck ruff to pull him off but failing.

Ranma snarled again, the wolf was crying out that this person had attacked one of his own. All Ranma could feel was the urge to stop him. Changing back into human to take the man by surprise Ranma rushed forward and attempted to slam his left leg through the fighting man's head. As he changed, a voice sounded in the alley. "D, did you see that D?" "Yes." Was D's reply.

Ranma's wild kick forced his head backwards. A blow, which if it had hit a human would have made their head explode, like a watermelon battered by a sledgehammer.

Aver leapt back away from D, as Ranma came back for another swinging kick at the man's centre. Unfortunately, D's movement was fast enough to catch Ranma's foot in mid air, and the martial artist flew backwards into the wall, smacking his head hard. Bright lights and black fog clouded his sight as he watched Aver attack again this time pushing the man on to his back straining against the wolf's weight pushing down on his chest.

Ranma slowly got up, clutching his head and stumbled to the fighting two. "Where's Bea?" he demanded.

"I know no one called Bea. Get your dog off me." Aver surged down his jaws snapping at D's neck.

"We followed you here you have to know where she is."

"Lycan, I just got here I have no idea who you're talking about." All Ranma's new senses were yelling at him that this man, D was not human, and where had that voice come from?

"Where's your friend?" Bringing a leg up D attempted to kick Aver but stopped in movement when Ranma stood on his ankle forcing it down.

"Let me up."

"No, tell us where Bea is."

"I have no idea." With that, the man stood up. Faster than Ranma could follow he flings both Ranma and Aver away from him alone with his physical strength propelling the pair down the alley towards the car park.

The alley was a dead end and the lycans were blocking D's exit. As both lycans began walking slowly towards D behind them, they heard a cough. The piece of copper and lead that slammed into Aver's back pushed the wolf forward a meter and made Ranma swing around, it were those men in black...again. They stood standing at the entrance of the alley, in front of a parked four-wheel drive, blocking the exit. No one in the alley with all the excitement had noticed their approach. :Great, just great.:

The bullet had forced the change on Aver healed but weak and in human form he knelt naked on the concrete. Ranma streaked towards the three men standing in front of the car, aiming for the man who had shot Aver. "Why won't you leave us alone?" Moving quickly the three men who looked slightly worse for wear from two days ago removed their weapons from their pockets and aimed them at the running lycan. "Why do you trust in your stupid weapons when they never work?" All three guns began filling the alley with projectiles, in a deadly rain.

As Ranma moved forward one of the shooters collapsed in front of him as a dart of silver pierced his body thrown by D. Ranma felt a bullet from one shooter hit his torso and push him back, but he recovered. He healed at a faster rate and the wound mended already. He leapt over the gunmen behind the two left standing, landing on the hood of the vehicle. Bringing a leg forward, he flung one of the guns down the alley into the large metal rubbish tip and past D, who was walking towards the gunman that was slowly standing up, leaning against the four-wheel drive, and having a small knife sticking out of his chest. He was weakly aiming the gun towards the approaching swordsman.

From the hood of the Truck Ranma flipped down and caught the as yet unhurt gunman before that one could change his aim. Aiming for his throat Ranma misgauged his strength not the first time since the change and punched the man back into Aver who was walking towards the gunman. "Sorry," after that said Aver quickly knocked what little wits the man had left out.

While this was going on, D quickly knocked the remaining shooter with the handle of his sword out. No noise of the guns and fighting had gone unnoticed. Several employees from the stores back in the car park were sticking their noses out the doors, peering into the gloom of the alley. Aver was naked and blood covered his lower body, Ranma was only covered by his grey cloak caught at his throat by the silver wolf broach. It was time to leave. "Why did you help us?" Aver asked.

"Before those men attacked I was going to tell you. There is a Lamia here in the city. I tracked its trail to this alley. I am not here to hurt any one. My name is D."

Aver laughed under his breath. "The Danpeal."

Authors Note:  
And on that note, I end the chapter. And the crossover is Vampire Hunter D.

I had it planned for the story arc to end in this chapter but the fights got too long so next chapter will bring a rousing conclusion to Ranma and Aver's trips through Europe, and on to China.

I was not expecting the response I recieved for my new Ranman 1/2 story. 'Ranma's Horrible Histories'  
But I will finish this story. If anyone want's to help with that story I am always happy for assistance.

If you didn't notice, I have a yahoo group now. Here it is, just take out the spaces:

http/ groups. yahoo. com/ group/ phorcys fanfiction

Thank you so much for reviewing:  
Silverscale, Jerry Unipeg, ss4-link - Thank you.

Innortal - Thank you for the help.

Wonderbee31 - Nodoka has always made me wonder if she loves her kid so much. Then why she let him go?

James W - I doubt you'll read this but thanks for the helpful criticism. I know my spelling and grammar is terrible in the beginning of this story. It needs to be fixed, which I will do some time in the future.

Rubel - Don't worry, Ranma will reach the springs in three chapters and then on to Japan.

pheonixru - Thanks for the reviews. I hope Ranma is active enough for you in this chapter. When I write action scenes, I am fighting against my overwhelming cowardice. With them traveling through Europe is a plot device. I wanted Ranma to spend time away form his dad, and the monkey in my head wanted a crossover. While they could have gone straight to Japan but that would have been no fun, and I needed a way to get them to the springs. This will be happening.

PLEASE PUSH THE LITTLE LAVENDER BUTTON!


	15. Therapy

**Wild Wolf : The Beginning**

Chapter Fifteen

**Therapy**

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2, I don't own D, I don't own Vienna, but I do own Aver.

Pre-Read by Hiryo whose own stories can be found here on FF.N

- "Remember -- that which does not kill us can only make us stronger."

- "And that which does kill us leaves us dead!"

-- (Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum)

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The sound of cars passing by outside was the loudest noise in the room. Heavy curtains blocked any light from entering and a strip of pale streetlight hid more than it showed of Bea's prison. She had woken up in a strange bed in a strange room. It was a distorted version of a little girl's bedroom. Stuffed toys decorated the walls along with framed paintings of animals in human clothes. However, everything was strangely skewed as though the animals were at any moment going to leave their frames and claw her eyes right out of their sockets.

Panicking when she first woke she had screamed and had been greeted by a ghoul with no eyes, the next thing she remembers is being rocked in the cold arms of the eye less women. "Shhh my baby, don't cry, good girls don't cry for mummy." Bea slammed her eyes shut and hoped like in the wizard of oz that if she wished hard enough she suddenly would be home. Bea knew this thing wasn't human, she could tell. She didn't question the knowledge of this she just knew.

The embrace of the creature that had stolen her from her home was cold and seems to suck the heat from her bones. At the same time, a smell surrounded her face that reminded her of when she had found a dead bird behind the school's coal furnace. The lamia rocked Bea in her arms until Bea started shivering and her teeth began to chatter. Still with her eyes closed, she bit her lip and held herself still. "Who . . . who . . . are you?" The lamia laughed and ignored the shudders passing through the small girl's body.

"My name's Julia silly, but you can call me Mummy. I am going to take such good care of you." Bea could feel ice forming inside her head. "You're not my Mummy, I want to go home." The Lamia brought Bea tighter into her grasp and Bea fought the urge to be sick as the smell enveloped her face. "Oh no, I'm your mummy now and I'm going to take such good care of my little girl. We are going to be the best of friends." Bea started crying again she felt so cold and couldn't keep her eyes open. "I want to go home." She didn't care about having to go to bed early and having to live with her stupid brothers. She would never complain again, she just wanted to go home and get away from the strange creature that asked her to call her Mummy.

Biting down harder on her lip, she felt the sharp pain of her teeth and then an icy chill touch her bones. "Please let me go home." Julia just smiled down at her new baby and rocked the small child in her pale arms. "Oh no you are home and we are going to have so much fun here. I have toys and games for you and we can play dress up and I can brush your hair it will be such fun." Gently placing the shivering girl on the soft cushions of the bed they were sitting on, the lamia walked over to a chair sitting next to a chest of drawers. She reached down to the chair and picked something up.

"Look I got you a doll. Her names Sarah. She's going to be your bestest friend." Bea didn't even notice that she had bitten through her bottom lip in fear and blood began to trial down her chin.

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"So, seen any good movies lately?" Ranma asked the silent vampire hunter as they rushed away from the gathering crowd. All he got was a weak clip around the ear from Aver. "Shhh," while a few brave or rather foolhardy souls at the mouth of the alleyway around the dead goons car started to reach for their mobiles, some to ring the police even as others took photos to send to their friends. The supernatural men made a hasty getaway.

Rushing from the scene of mayhem it was quite hard not to gather a crowd, as all looked like extras in a Quentin Tarintino film. Aver's clothes that Ranma had been carrying were not quite covering the fact that he had been shot and a blood red circle sat in the center of his back where blood had leaked through a hastily prepared bandage. Ranma on the other hand had no other change of clothing and was left ragged and torn in the T-shirt and pants he had fought in. D looked like he had been attacked by a pack of wild wolves, which was when you thought about it was very close to reality.

Ranma had wanted so much to question the gunmen that had once again tried to kill him. However, he was stopped by Aver when he dragged him off to follow the half-vampire as they fled the scenic. Scratching a deep scrape Ranma followed Aver on his escape and left with a lingering look at the battered attackers. Knowing his luck they would try again and he would kick their arses again, except next time he would stay around to ask them a few questions. Pesky crowd.

They quickly moved out of the neighborhood, sticking to the shadows and ended up in the driveway of an abandoned home. Where Aver clutched at the remains of D's jacket and forced him to a stop. "Wait, I' m sorry we attacked you, but my niece is missing." D gently removed his tattered jacket from Aver's hand.

"So the lamia has her, she is dead or worse. You know this werewolf." The Danpeal's voice was cold and deep, it seemed out of place in the brightening dawn.

"No she doesn't need to be and even if it is the worst her mother will want the body." Aver spoke.

D started walking again away from the two lycans. "If that is all, good bye."

"I'll pay you one million euros. There is no one better at tracking vamps than you. I will pay you to find her dead or alive. Preferably alive if you can manage it." Aver made a weak joke.

D stopped, and then turned around to face them. "Fine." Ranma remembered the little girl he had played with she had been so excited showing him her schoolwork. He remembered being the same way when he was small and had learned a new martial arts move. And he remembered the look on her mothers face. He hoped that D was as good as Aver said. Because dead or alive never sounded promising.

D nodded and started walking again. Ranma looked to Aver who was staring down at his dirty hands in false concentration. "What are you doing?"

Aver sighed. "I lost the trail. It went into that alley but it didn't leave. The thing can fly and we can't. There are too many things I can say. D, he's a vampire hunter the best and we need him."

Ranma shook his head. "Why am I not surprised? Werewolves exist, so why not vampires. But what's a lamia?"

Aver looked at D who was several meters down the road. "I'll tell you while we walk." The pair followed D as he walked through the quiet streets until he reached a nondescript black car and stopped. By the time they had reached the car Ranma held the firm conviction that Greek gods were mental and that the lamia needed therapy, or better yet to die a slow and painful death.

D had the boot open and wipes down his sword before placing it carefully in a case in the back. Aver placed a foot against his front fender. "We're going with you." D's face didn't change but Ranma could swear he saw the skin around his eyes tighten in a minuscule wince.

"Fine, just don't stain the leather." Opening the driver's side door he got into the car and the door locks popped open. Ranma hesitated before stepping inside.

"Pop always said I wasn't to get into cars with strange men who offered me lollies." Aver just stared at Ranma.

"Did he offer you sweets?"

"No."

"Well then get in."

Ranma shrugged and got into D's car, slamming the doors shut. "Where are we going?" Ranma asked as the houses they were passing began to get further and further part until the city lights

had faded behind them.

"Information." was D's reply. That was the last any one said while the car was running. 'He's just a barrel of laughs isn't he?' Ranma thought to himself and tried to follow the path of a plane flying high overhead.

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It was a quiet car ride through the waking city, as those people necessary to start the day began their jobs. Street sweepers, rubbish collectors, produce and newspapers deliverers, all broke the early morning silence as D drove through the streets. The only sounds in the car were from Ranma who had begun to flick his thumbnail against the back of his front teeth. The sky was getting lighter when they reached an abandoned lot, where the ruins of some sort of building had once sat. It sat alone amongst the industrial blocks. D pulled his car smoothly to a stop. "Don't speak, when you meet her."

With this mysterious warning D slid out of the car and walked up to the rusted chain link gates surrounding the lot. With no effort, he was up and over the fence in a small hop. Ranma looked to Aver who was staring at the danpeal. "Are you sure about this?"

Chewing his cheek Aver frowned. "No, I'm not but do you have a better idea?" Ranma stood away from the car and followed the path D had taken jumping the 2-meter fence easily.

"No."

As he passed over the fence, he found himself not in the expected concrete ruins but in a familiar garden, though this time it was not held in the grasp of winter. A warm dawn was lighting a garden. Gravel paths edged in flowering lavender led to a tall gazebo like structure where he could see D standing. His dark figure stands out in an otherwise pale light. Aver landed beside him and he heard him grunt in surprise.

"Oh, one of these." Ranma turned a question in his eyes. "These pop up now and then Regeana says they are parasite universes. Not large enough to form their own continuum. If this is the garden I have heard about D was right just don't say anything, please." Ranma didn't mention his previous visit to the garden and the fact he had met its occupant before. In fact, he had her present draped over his shoulders right now.

They could see D quietly talking to a seated figure in the gazebo, and as they got closer, they could hear D offering payment. So both were shocked when echoing around the walled garden they all heard a female voice say

"_**Gods, be with me, and do not scorn what's given**_

_**from a humble table in pure earthenware.**_

_**The cups were earthenware the ancients made,**_

_**at first, themselves, from ductile clay.**_

_**I don't need the wealth of my forefathers**_

_**that the harvest brought my distant ancestors.**_

_**A little field's enough: enough to sleep in peace,**_

_**and rest my limbs on the accustomed bed**._

What use is gold to me? You should know better D."

_Tibullus_

By the time the words had faded Ranma and Aver had reached the stone structure sitting in the center sat Nenia with her long dark hair pooling around her feet. Her sharp eyes peered at the two disreputable looking wolves Ranma felt uncomfortable and confused how she and her garden had ended up in Vienna. So he raised a hand in a little wave.

"Hi." A small smiled passed over the motherly visage of the strange woman. "Ranma Saotome heir to the School of Anything Goes indiscriminate grappling and part time wolf, what are you doing in my garden again?" Scratching the back of his head, he tried to look sorry. "Well we just followed D here." Turning to face the Danpeal, he looked up at him. "Umm why are we here?"

Again, with the one word the Danpeal replies. "Information."

"Yes, the vampire hunter has been telling me about his, I mean your little problem. It is so terrible when a lamia hunts."

"So can you help us?" D spoke down to the seated woman.

"I may be able to help you but I think the price should be adjusted to this new circumstance."

"What circumstances?"

Nenia produced from nowhere a length of thread and began building a cat's cradle. "I don't often see so many people in my garden. I find it most unsettling" The string twisted around her fingers in a simple pattern as she keep threading her fingers together.

Aver sighed, "Please help us a little girls life is in danger."

Smiling gently Nenia looked at Ranma, "I think I would like a kiss from the young wolf, if that is not too much to ask for my information?"

Ranma's face turned red and he stared at her for a moment then to Aver and then back to Nenia. Mumbling he spoke to the ground at his feet. "You're sure you don't want D to kiss you?" Nenia laughed and kept playing with the cat's cradle in her hands. Aver gave him a pointed look and the martial artist sighed. "I suppose I'll do it." Ranma climbed the short steps up to the seat women and leant down hesitantly. Nenia turned her right cheek upward towards Ranma. Who looked like he was just about to put his lips on a dead slug. Moving faster than the eye could see he leant down and then was standing back besides Aver wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Nenia smiled, "One day I am going to have a talk with your father."

Ranma didn't answer, as all he thought about was 'Ewww.'

"I accept the payment." Nenia stooped moving her hands and throwing the pile of string straight at D who raised his hands to catch it and with out looking they were all outside the garden

standing next to the car. Ranma scowled and exclaimed "What! I kissed her and she kicks us out, that's not fair." D

pointed to the road in front of Ranma laid out on the tarsal was an intricate web of string. It was what Nenia had been twisting between her fingers while they talked. Like a strange spider's web, the string that shone in the fading darkness showed a thin needle surrounded by a labyrinth of lines and a star.

"Well she could have just told us." Aver stated.

"You know you haven't been much help, for one million euros." He turned to D and stepped up to him. Ranma stared at the coils on the ground and then up into the sky it looked familiar but he couldn't think how. Stepping closer he stared down on the pattern and then up to the fading moon and it struck him what it reminded him of. The 'Donauturm.' Ranma remembered the sky tower from their visit a couple of days ago. Aver had stopped him from spitting off the observation deck. A tall sky tower it had pierced the Vienna sky for forty years sitting in the 'Donaupark.' And somehow, from there they must be able to find Bea. He hated to think they were no closer to finding the child. In addition, he hadn't kissed a girl for nothing. Okay she was a supernatural creature but still a girl.

It did not take long to convince the other of his discovery and like some mad treasure hunter they were off across town to 'Donaupark' where the tower was located in the 22nd district 'Donaustadt.' They were able to reach the doors just as they were opening for the morning. The three creatures rushed to the observation deck with a carefully preserved pattern of string. Placing the pattern against the glass window, they began comparing the image of the string to the city below them. Slowly one hour became two in their mad search, until Aver gasped and pointed to the circles that made up the outside pattern had matched up with several large roads and the star sat in the middle right in the center of the Prater. The sun was bright in the sky and made the wolves wince as they left the landmark. D was sitting in the driver seat before the others were seated and fighting in the morning traffic he raced to the Prater.

"I don't really see wolves much anymore." D spoke quietly as they raced through town.

"Yes well when we do things like this, something happens doesn't it?" Aver scowled out at the city.

"It isn't that bad they have no idea of the world around them like blind mice."

"You're right what do I have to sound cynical about isn't that your job."

"Well humans never seem to learn it and it pays to be cynical."

"Hey, what ever happened to that Naga in Pakistan I heard about . . . ?" D answered quietly and

Ranma stared at the two men realizing that there was a whole world he had no idea about that he was now a member, because of some strange genetic quirk he hoped the future held few surprises.

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Bea stared at the Lamia. A few hours ago, she had brought in a bottle of milk and had tried to give it to her as though she was a baby. Bea had been so afraid that she had just let the milk dribble down her chin and in response the lamia had clawed at her arm leaving bloody tracks. Now her arms were so tired from holding her knees close to her chest that they had stiffened hours ago and if she ever got the chance, she didn't know if she would be able to walk. The small room was so tight and stiffening she could feel the walls close in on her and the glass eyes of the stuffed animals were staring at her in the fussy darkness. The lamia had left soon after the disastrous feeding but she had left the doll Sarah tucked under Bea's chin clucking at her that they looked so cute together.

After the lamia had been gone for long enough, Bea very slowly eased herself off the bed crying as her arms and legs cramped. But she had to remember that she was a big girl and her Daddy always told her she could do anything. She just wishes she didn't have to do this. A faded sort of light was easing through the cracks in the boarded up windows and she tried to scratch at the boards, only breaking her nails. It was so cold here. Picking at a wall, she noticed that it wasn't well made. Only thin ply board painted white she could push against it and feel it give. Where was she?

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D parked the car outside a side entrance to the Prater. Ranma followed the slowly moving D and Aver. Both were tracking a trail they had spotted as soon as they had entered the Prater. Ranma watched D stoop down and place his left palm on the ground every few meters. Aver was in wolf form again, went backwards, and forwards across a gravel path both were traveling in the same direction, directly into the center of the park. Ranma followed behind jogging to keep up with the older men. Quickly a trail the martial artist couldn't see led them to a faded park sight, warning them in German that park maintenance was being carried out and that this trail was closed. They could see across the path the small novelty tram that during the day delighted children and tourists running through the park. They ignored the warning and followed the path through to one storm water out let, which was wide and dark in the early sunlight, and so they could feel the cold air escaping from it. By now, even Ranma could smell the stench that had been in the alley and at Bea's home. It led straight down the tunnel. None of the three noticed a small ball sitting just on the right side at the end of the tunnel roll out of sight.

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Bea clutched the doll to her chest in fear as the door to her prison crashed open. She was back on the bed after exploring a little and had hugged the doll tightly in comfort. She didn't feel her body. The Lamia's sightless eyes wept tears of blood, while staring at the small-frightened girl. She rushed over to the small girl folding her deeply into her cold dead arms. "Ohh, those nasty boys are coming for my baby. But I will not let them. They cannot have you. Because you are my precious little one and I will take such good care of my darling." She dragged Bea off the bed and out of the room before the girl could cry out.utside of her prison, Bea viewed the concrete walls and saw she had been in a room marked as maintenance inside a larger Cement tunnel.

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Ranma stared into the tunnel. He didn't like to be in confined spaces, it made him think of the C word, and he never wanted to think of the C word. D and Aver had both without hesitation followed the scent down the hole into a deeper tunnel, which led them to a broken grate, and a maintenance tunnel leading under the park. Ranma could feel the walls closing in on him and he hoped Bea was alive so he could laugh about this later. It was silent in the tunnels as fluorescent lights glared above them. Moreover, there was no sound except for the drip of flowing water. The throat clenching acidic smell that had haunted the trail since the beginning is now overwhelming and Ranma wished he could turn it off and breathe again.

Suddenly, a smell covered the scent of the lamia, the scent of old death. Aver stopped and glanced back at Ranma whose eyes had begun to water. The tunnel seemed even smaller to the young were. When from above a figure dropped on an unwary D. Ranma swore he heard a voice speak. "You know you never remember to look up, Dumbarse."

It was one of the lamia's kills she must have brought home. The being had been dead for a long time and if you looked closely it might have once worn a park rangers uniform but the scent alone drove Ranma back and made him gag. He could taste rotting flesh on his tongue, which made him want to vomit. When D drove a fist through the leech's chest, destroying its heart, he saw rotted intestines snake out and so Ranma lost his lunch against the concrete wall. Aver stayed in wolf form and Ranma swore he could see the Lupine laughing.

Then as D wiped rotting meat off his jacket, he stopped, his head coming up, and raced down the tunnel.

Ranma suddenly smelt it too, the smell that he had thought strong before, overwhelmed the smell of the very dead body and led directly down the tunnel. Ranma ran closely followed by D. The tunnel led to a metal door. The door was open and led out into a series of large connected rooms where tree roots had broken apart a wall and it had split the concrete. Now dirt and darkness filled the room. Aver had dove through the open door and Ranma rushed through to see the wolf stuck in a strange bear hug of a spider thin figure, which had long straggly black hair flying around its face while crying at the top of its lungs.

"Mine, mine, MINE!"

Across the room, Ranma couldn't see her clearly but smelled her. Bea dirty and scared stared at the sight in front of her with her pit dark eyes in her face. Said figure attacking Aver was the Lamia, the one that what had scared them so much and had sent them through the city. Said figure picked Aver up in its arms and flung the wolf across the room into the wall, so that Ranma heard the crunch of breaking ribs. A stunned Aver wobbled to his feet. Ranma rushed at the Lamia to start punching its pale chest to pieces, only to be stopped as D stepped forward sword ready to kill the beast. Merely to have the sword rendered useless as it's driven through the Lamia's waist, halted on a rib stuck, and still not deterring the creature.

D swung a sharp hand around to rip the creatures face off and missed as she bent down still

crying, almost screaming. "Mine, mine, MINE, MINE!" She scuttled across the room towards Bea who was crying herself only silently clutching a dirty doll to her chest. Ranma raced forward before the Lamia could reach the child and in a desperate measure, hekicked out at the lamia hoping to stop her and by chance and fate, he caught the hilt of D's sword forcing it sideways as well down straight through the Lamia's spine.

It was a quick and messy fight but with her spine cut, she could not move and slumped to the ground leg less. Only to crawl towards the petrified girl who was staring at the creatures empty eye sockets. All the time the Lamia was crying, "My baby, my darling, my precious." Placing a hand on the pitiful creatures back D yanked his sword out of the creature's vertebra and thrust down through the top of its skull cutting it neatly in half. That all happened directly in front of Bea, who had closed her eyes tight and begun to scream. Ranma dove down next to her and held her close unconsciously murmuring into her ear, "It's all right. It's all right."

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D organized for them to meet later that day after he had left them to drop of the girl. He was aware that most people don't carry around 1 million euros in lose change, especially since Aver was naked when they first met. While Ranma comforted Bea in the back seat, they decided to settle the bill at the Vienna International Center in short VIC, which was like an international airport but more like an embassy of every European nation all in one. You must have your passport and papers checked to get from the hall into the building itself.

In the car ride from the Prater Bea had clung to Ranma's neck like a monkey and he had only just been able to pry her off to leave her on the doorstep. They had taken the child straight to the suburban home of Aver's descendant's and making sure no one was looking, put the thoroughly exhausted girl on the front porch, and rang the door bell. So in the soft light of the afternoon Ranma and Aver sat outside out of sight of anyone looking and watched from across the street. Hillary looked so haggard when she opened the door, Ranma almost didn't recognize her. Her face was pale and her eyes stood out red and afraid. When she saw no one at the door, she went to close it again but looked down when she heard some one gulp on a breath of air.

"Mum . . . Mummy."

Ranma would always remember the look on her face at the sight of her missing daughter. She burst into tears sobbing as she stooped down and feel onto her dirt encrusted daughter. Bea's mother clutched Bea so tightly that her face turned blue under the dirt and scratches. "Bea." She clutched the girl to her chest and her voice rang with joy as she started kissing her daughters face. "You're safe, I love you. I love you and don't want you to leave me again. You're my precious baby."

Bea stiffened in her mothers arms and cried harder.

So they sat outside out of sight of anyone in the house and watched the reunion between parents and a kidnapped child.

Aver sniffed and began to bawl from behind the corner of the garage they were watching from,

"I'm so happy." The big baby was making a racket, but Bea's mother is completely focused on her daughter who she still hugged close to her heart.

Ranma stared at his friend and looked back at the mother and child and sighed, he hoped that soon he was going to see his Mother beyond that he did not know what could happen. Ranma

asked Aver. "Why didn't we go in?"

Aver just shrugged. "I'm allergic to questions."

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It had only taken a quick phone call to Maeneil to gather the money. After his explanation Aver put Ranma on the phone to explain that 'Yes, Aver's niece had been kidnapped. No, the money wasn't for Aver's gambling debts, or his stuffed pig obsession, and he hadn't trashed their new hotel room . . . yet.'

The large VIC building loomed over their heads as Aver watched Ranma stand on top of a streetlight, looking out for the vampire hunter.

"So you think he'll turn up?" asked Ranma.

"Sure I would, plus it wasn't like he had to do much. It was fun. You know, every time it gets boring with you those guys in black attack and then it gets fun again." Aver had bought from somewhere a gingerbread pig and was nibbling at the treat as he watched Ranma jump backwards and forwards between the streetlights. So both were surprised when D appeared as if seemingly out of nowhere.

"My money."

There were only a few people on the street and gathered around the front of the International centre and most ignored the three men, having their own problems to worry about.

Aver pulled a bankcard out of his pocket and smiled. "Welcome to the National Bank of Austria where the interest rates are low and you could win a free holiday with every home loan. One million euros in the account under Henry Morgan the pin is 2314, have fun." D picked the card out of the non-protesting werewolf's fingers and went to turn away from the two lycans. However, he stopped and looked up at the watching Ranma. "Boy, a word of advice because I am feeling generous. You are a skillful fighter but you should watch your back if you ever return to Japan. There are real wolves in that country that don't always wear fur, and they are not afraid of using their teeth." With that comment he turned and disappeared as well as he appeared.

"Well that was mysterious." Ranma announced as he hopped down from his perch.

Aver ducked under Ranma's snatch at his gingerbread treat. "Yeah he has that whole lone hero thing going. He should get it trademarked."

Ranma groaned when he moved to 'borrow' Aver's gingerbread treat from him as a muscle ached he had pulled fighting the 'Guys in Black' while Aver was drunk and then aggravated when they attacked D only made worse by his fight with the Lamia. "You know I think we need a holiday."

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**Some where on the India / China border**

The mountain climbers had been on the mountainside for two weeks now and had only three more days before they reached the last stretch and they finally reached the top. It had been a tiring and exhausting process but they could taste success only a few miles away. The team of four climbers and fifteen Sherpas was made up of three men Patrick, the camera operate Simon, a sound technician Claude an actor and a single women Margaret also an actor.

They were being sponsored by a soda company to plant a flag on the highest peak declaring that their soft drink was the greatest in the world for an 'edgy' new ad campaign. Unfortunately, everyone was growing sick of the sight of each other, as they had now been stuck in their tents for two days with a vicious snowstorm forcing them to a halt. They had gathered in the guy's tent that evening before they went to sleep leaving the Sherpas to their own devices. "I heard that there's a ghost on the mountain." Claude exclaimed in mock horror. The rest grumbled at his blatant attempt at entertainment.

"No I'm serious. I was talking to the Sherpas. They say that the great white spirit of the snow know as Amneg haunts the mountain. He haunts this mountain leading unwary climbers to their deaths." Patrick and Simon were playing poker and ignored Claude.

"Look, I'm not lying. They said it's really fat and covered in thick brown fur."

Margaret looked up from her magazine. "If he kills everyone, how do they know what he looks like?"

Claude frowned and sighed. "Fine if you guys don't want to play along I'll shut up." For the next hour, there was little noise, except the sound of Simon complaints as Patrick won. Then from out side the tent they heard a sound, as though someone was rubbing against the material of their tent. No one was bothered assuming it was one of the Sherpas. But no one came through the flaps. Slowly everyone stopped what they were doing.

"You really shouldn't have talked about ghosts. Now we're going to be jumping at anything," Margaret complained.

The noises stopped and everyone let out their breath. To start screaming five seconds later as one side of the tent was ripped open and a huge furry creature stepped into the tent and growled. It was Amneg. The film crew scrambled out of the ruins of their tent and ran out into the snowy night.

Genma scowled and then smiled. He had hoped to borrow some food and spend the night with the climbers. It was cold out on the mountain. Even under the thick yak fur coat, he had liberated from the clothesline of some helpless Sherpa. 'Oh well' he thought to himself, if they didn't want their tent he could use it and he was sure they wouldn't miss their sleeping bags and thermal underwear.

He had been traveling for three months and was now, passing up through the Himalayas into China from India. He was putting off reaching Japan, as long as possible he didn't to be the one who told Nodoka what had happened to her precious little boy. It was going to take him a few more months before he reached Japan but in the mean time, he might go and have a look at the training grounds he had heard about, just in case the boy turned up again. It wouldn't hurt to have some escape routes planned when they returned.

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**Japan, Tokyo**

A familiar scene in an average Japanese family home. We have seen it before. Inside the home sits a women staring at a computer screen and wish she had never started this course of action. Written in black and white on the computer screen were the final damming words she had been dreading but had also been expecting for a very long time. Sipping from a tall cold glass of water beside her, she swallows past the sudden lump in her throat. She knew it was going to happen she had been the one who started it all but she had been a fool and had pushed it out of her mind for so many years. She had had to lock it away along with her fear and regret or she would never have been able to go through with it. Many years ago, she had been slightly more innocent, or maybe the right term would be that she had been slightly more trusting and had believed in something she no longer did.

She had thought the sun and moon revolved around the man. If she had just looked deeper, maybe everything would be different now. Drawing in a deep breath, she sighed and wished that

she didn't know the truth. That she could live her life without knowing this torrid secret. Nevertheless, she did know and could not do anything with her knowledge. She was going to have to bring her boy home. She just hoped that he was strong enough for what was going to happen soon. Nodoka Saotome stared at an e-mail sent to her from her close friend Regeana and the attached photograph of the strange boy that had arrived at their retreat. Nodoka smiled sadly and looked for the first time in eleven years at her son, Ranma.

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**Japan, close by in Tokyo**

The doctor's office was painted a tasteful and soothing pale beige. Large plotted plants and soothing music created a sense of false peace. False but expensive. The room screamed money, however that happened in an elegantly and quietly pointed manner. No medical equipment could bee seen only several tall stained wood cabinets sat against the walls. But under the quite surface, there was a clear smell of hospital disinfectant. Sitting on a comfortable leather chair the businessman looked enquiringly at a smiling doctor who was gently begging to sweat.

"I am very sorry to tell you this sir but from our tests we have found that the decay has progressed by .5 percent since the last appointment. We had hoped the medication would halt the advance." The doctor's patient did not look disappointed in fact. He looked satisfied with the news. "We feel that with more tests a new medication more suitable for your problem could be found."

Smiling the businessman shook his head slowly. His gruff voice stopping the doctor's speech, "Don't bother. I will not be coming back after this visit."

The doctor kept a look of surprise of his face. "Sir, are you aware that with out treatment your condition will worsen rapidly?"

Getting up from his chair, he straightened his jacket and held out a hand to the doctor. "I realize, you have been a good doctor for me but I believe I will not see you again."

The doctor sighed as he watched the enigmatic man walk out his office door and stood up in surprise as two men he did not recognize, except that they had arrived with his ex-patient, stepped through the door, closing it behind them.

In the corridor outside the businessman straightened his tie and paid no attention to the sounds from the doctor's office. It did not pay to leave behind such information as medical records in the hands of others, a fact he had learnt many years ago. He no longer needed the drugs and chemicals that kept his body together. Very soon, the solution to his problems would be his.

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**Greece, a Beach House on the Aegean**

They were enjoying a nice vacation from the hectic life of random attacks by men in black and supernatural forces. Aver had rented a house in Greece right next to a deep blue sea with a golden beach. Ranma relaxed by practicing his katas in the houses sunroom and afterwards stretched out his muscles. He was tired but energized at the same time. Inscribed on his T-shirt today were the words. "I am the reason why some species eat their young.' Soon he was going to have to go home to Japan. A country he hadn't seen in a very long time. It'll be going to be so strange and now with his whole new problem. He would never forget the look on Hillary's face when they brought Bea home frighten and scared. He hoped his mother would look at him like that one day. D had mentioned while they were hunting for Bea that an acquaintance of his in Japan might help him and he would give him a call to get in contact with the martial artist werewolf. He didn't know what he was going to do but it'll be fun to find out.

In the kitchen, Aver was creating his patented Triple-decker-chocolate-fudge-almond-peanut-sundae he was using a 2 liter mixing bowl to sit it in when the phone rang. Aver placed a single cherry on top of his meter tall creation and reached for the phone.

"Hmm, we don't want anything . . . .

Oh, it's you Maeneil. Do I have to come home . . . ?

No, cool . . . .

You want us to go to China . . . ?

You say it was in the old farts papers . . . .

What did you call it again . . . Jusenkyo. . . .

I'll just go tell Ranma we'll leave tomorrow."

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_Authors Note_

I told you I wouldn't stop writing this story. Well here it is chapter fifteen and the longest yet. My pre-reader Hiryo deserves a very big drink for hacking through it. Information about Lamia can be found at the start of chapter thirteen.

Well after this chapter Ranma finally finds his way into canon, and how that is going to end I have some ideas.

Thankyou very much for reviewing it keeps me writting.

Jaryd Alderis, Winter Ravenwolf, Innortal, Jerry Unipeg, Silverscale, ss4-link, sandcrawlr.

Wonderbee31 and Lord Rance: Ranma has not in his memory seen his mother this can cause problems. Not Oedipus sort of problems I hope. Lord Rance not all mothers love their children. It is sad but true that the maternal instinct is not a universal thing. Ranma does not know that Nodoka fought to have him remain at home.

Please continue to review as I love ideas and comments, thank you.

Tibullus quote trans by A Kline


	16. It could have been worse

**Chapter Sixteen**

It Could Have Been Worse.

**Disclaimer:**

Finally, I have reached the canon. I bet you thought it would never get here. Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and the werewolves belong to Alice Borchardt, well all except Aver. He is mine.

Pre-read by Hiryo

"Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." -- (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

_**Recap:**_

_Previously, while training in Europe during winter Ranma hides from Genma in an abandoned building and changes there into a wolf. In the form of a wolf, he met a pack of wolves but escaped their advances. Once back in civilization Genma feeds Ranma drugs and sells him to a dog-fighting pit._

_Escaping this, Ranma discovers the home of an ancient Roman spirit called Nenia who tells him what he is. On leaving her home, he discovers one of the wolves from the pack has followed him that too is a shape changer. They talk and Ranma decides to leave with him. Leaving Genma, Ranma meets the human forms of the wolves he had met at their home. While there the leader promises to help Ranma finding his mother, which they think can tell him why he is a werewolf._

_During a hunt on their ground, a mysterious gunman aims to tranquilize Ranma and fails, Ranma and Aver the wolf that had been following him leave to get more information on Ranma's mother and the mysterious gunman. On a tour through Europe, they visit Vienna that is the home of Aver's descendants._

_While there, they are attacked by more men in black, which has happened several times on their trip. As they visit Aver's family, the daughter Bea was kidnapped by a Lamia and they act to find her. On their search, they stumble across D who is also after the Roman vampire. They rescue the child and are relaxing at a beach in the Mediterranean when Maeniel the leader of the wolves calls and tells Aver his findings._

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China,

Qinghai Province,

Bayankala Range,

Mt Quanjing,

Training Ground of the Accursed Springs.

Sam looked out over the fog that lifts from the springs, only to drift in-between the bamboo posts. If anyone of his guests asked him, not that they would as most are more worried exclusively about their own problems rather then the inner most feelings of the inconspicuous Chinese man who was standing beside them.

But if they did, they would discover that there were hidden depths to this quiet man. In fact late at night behind his hut's bamboo shutters he would hook up the families petrol generator to the stereo and blast out his favorite music numbers. In fact, when he had been young he had dreamed of being a member of a famous band and having a chance to sing in all the famous cities across the world. However, he had been stuck here in what he referred to privately, only in his inner most thoughts as 'a shining beacon to all morons and muscle brained martial artists in the world.'

Once long ago he had tried to talk his father into letting him leave home and move to the city to find his fortune. He still had the scars from his father's firm argument against that course of action.

So he was now left to dream of a singing career while in reality only torturing his family. He had dreams and no one was going to ruin them by telling him he stunk.

At the moment, he was watching a fat man sneak around the edges of the springs on the east side of the valley. The Japanese man had turned up a week ago, closely followed by a small, but determined hunting party from the local Amazon village, which he had friendly relations with.The hunting parties leader Jian Mu explained to him that this man had entered the village at night and stole into several huts where he robbed anything that wasn't nailed down.

A warrior's husband who had risen early to make his wife's breakfast had found the balding martial artist in the kitchen trying to stuff a pound of rice down the front of his gi. Therefore, a small group of the Amazons had chased after the man who had for some reason only known to him run straight to the magical springs. The Amazons not being stupid had stopped at a reasonable distance away from the cursed springs, watched, waited until the fat man run out of food, and would be forced to leave the cursed area.

The guide sighed as he noticed the robber trying to sneak around the edges of several springs including the spring of 'Talking Hamster' and the unfortunate spring of 'Hungry Hungry Hippo' attempting to get behind Sam's hut and for the third time this week to steal from him. Shaking his head, he yelled out to his wife. "Lian! That stupid fat man is here, so shut the shutters . . . again."

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The mountains of China held many terrors, tigers, bears, strange magical tribes that for some reason have never been discovered by anyone who really mattered. Those are all the people, which draw maps, and tourist's guides. But to two wolves who had been making their way slowly through the west of the great land mass they had luckily avoided any of these problems. Except the usual problems of wandering around without soap and running water in a country filled with rain, mud, and that strange green sludge that you can find in the bottom of drying streams.

Now both were watching a small herd of ponies cautiously drinking at a pond. The water's edge was surrounded by evergreen trees and yellowing grass. The first wolf's fur faded into the sun burnt grass, a rusty brown. It was larger than the other wolf and its sharp ears followed the sound of the cautious equine. The wolf beside it was watching the ponies with a keen interest, as they had not eaten in several days because some one who is better not mentioned was kicked in the head by an irate sheep. This wolf's dark fur was another shadow underneath a tall tree's awning it was smaller than the other wolf but it had the look of an adolescent, whose quite large paws that are bigger than they should be and one day it will grow into them.

With a small twitch of his left ear, the red wolf told his companion that it was time to move. Quietly the dark wolf crept left, keeping close to the ground and running in short bursts, carefully keeping a nose out for the wind direction. Meanwhile the red wolf crept to the left through the pond's reeds.

The sun was hot and a dry heat baked the mud that was being churned up by the hooves of the herd. At a prearranged signal, both wolves sprang into a run catching the ponies between them. In a rage of mud and water, the ponies screamed in fear and turned away from the pond to run from the threatening predators.

Both wolves focused on the same animal, a smaller weaker pony they had noticed from the other side of the pond. It had lost a fight at some point with another predator, and its left foreleg was lame slowing it down. The larger wolf leapt forward onto the creature's neck biting down hard on its throat. While the darker wolf snapped forward aiming at the hamstrings of the ponies back legs. They had both been hunting together for months now and except for some minor mishaps, they had created a smooth team, any memories of sheep or the goat in Croatia are better not mentioned.

The red wolf had a mouth full of the pony's harsh coat but it had just missed a firm grasp of its flesh. With a furious scream and sharp shake of its neck, the beast drove the red wolf off. Scrambling at its neck the wolf was flung back but quickly recovered and sprang forward clamping down this time successfully on the creatures throat.

In the meantime, the younger wolf had snapped through the poor animals hocks and had jumped onto its withers. There it lamed the pony so it could not run as if it could with its back legs skewed out behind it. With a quick sharp shake of its head, the red wolf fought to snap the pony's neck and succeeded on the second attempt screaming once more, the pony wheezed and slumped to the ground kicking feebly while it expired. The rest of the herd was long gone when the two wolves began to feed.

A little while later Ranma was taking a quick bath in the still waters of the pond. Blood and other bodily fluids transferred over from wolf to human and he never really felt clean until he had had a bath. They were traveling slowly eastwards towards a place Aver had told him were mentioned in his father's papers.

Which was better than any reason to visit the place and see if the 'Old Fart' may have been there recently? With all his hunting for information, Maeniel was unable to discover any on his mother.

Living away from civilization for a long period of time was not strange to Ranma, he had done so for most of his life, but living as a wolf was new and at times dangerous. But then again, it was not the first time he had been chased off a property by a farmer with a shotgun.

Aver was napping while Ranma bathed, they had to move quickly before scavengers smelt the kill and gathered to feast. Moving quickly from human to wolf he walked out of the water and shook himself down leaving his hair puffed up and reasonably dry. A howl from only a few kilometers away alerted Ranma to the arrival of a pack of wild dogs. Aver woke with a jump and licking the last of drying blood from his chops he smelt the air. They were only a few hours travel from their destination of Jusenkyo.

Aver was trotting on ahead of Ranma who was thinking to himself about what could soon happen. 'What do you say to a father that sold you? "Hi Dad, great to see you, but I think you should give the money back."' As they reached the top of the cliffs leading down into a valley, he shook his head and huffed. 'Oh well I'm just going to have to think about it when it happened. I had five months to worry about it . . . I will deal with it when I have to.'

Both wolves paused when they reached the point were they could overlook the valley. Clouds sat low amongst the peaks of the mountains that surrounded them, as fog floated over the springs that dotted the valley floor of hundreds upon hundreds of the springs all with thin bamboo poles rising from the misty water. A small wooden hut sat a good distance back from any spring on the far side of the valley.

The two of them slid easily from wolf to human, it is hard to describe the transition from human to lupine but have you ever seen someone draw hundreds of little pictures on a pad of paper which when flipped through quickly create a picture of a man running. Well the change looks something like that to those watching and then completely not like that. From the inside, Ranma thought, 'It feels like an all over body sneeze.'

Both wolves had been carefully carrying a very small bag in case of emergencies. While Ranma always had his red cloak and silver pin when he changed, Aver did not and Ranma always felt more comfortable back in his normal clothes, which he had folded in his bag, unfortunately no shoes.

"Well it's not Paris but I'm sure it's beautiful in the spring." Aver gestured down at the valley they had finally found.

Ranma grinned at the older man and started down the path to the valley below. "So do you think we'll find Pop?"

"Maeniel found two addresses mentioned by your father in his papers, here, and somewhere in Japan. Since we were traveling this way anyway, Maeniel suggested we visit here first."

Ranma jumped down a short limestone rock fall and glanced up at Aver. "But will Pop be here?"

"Here's better than anywhere else."

As they got closer to the springs, a sense of unease grew in Ranma's heart. His wolf could smell something wrong. "Hey, do you have any info about this place? It seems strange just sitting here in the middle of nowhere."

Aver who was close behind Ranma glanced at the many pools of water below. "Maeniel said that the valley has a reputation for being accursed but he could not find out why it had this reputation."

"That sounds bad. Why couldn't my father end up some where nice like Hawaii?"

Aver did not answer the rhetorical question as they had reached the bottom of the valley. A heavy feeling of dread washed over the wolves' heads like a wet blanket, as they looked at the valley.

"Hawaii, it could have been Hawaii." Ranma muttered under his breath as the wolf inside his mind tried to make him back away from the valley. "This is not a good place."

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'I'm tired, hungry, and sober. I can live with the first two problems but the last one is unforgivable.' Genma sits leaning back against a tree. 'I wish I had a bottle of sake. Crazy warrior women, not right them figthing. Women should know there place. Pity, I was dying for a drink.' Genma scrached his head and dandriff gently floated around face. 'Now some of the crazy chicks chasing are after me, it's all that boys fault. If he had just stayed where he was told to be, then I wouldn't have to worry about these unimportant trifles.'

'For the past four days, I've stayed here in that valley. I was expecting something more impressive for such a powerful training ground.' Looking out over the springs he could just see smoke rising from the little tour guide's hut. 'I don't know why but for some strange reason the hunters won't come near the pools, to bad for them so I'm safe. However, I'm running out of food and patience,' which Genma never had a lot of in the first place.

'The little man and his family who live on the far side of the valley have managed to keep me away from their own food.' A loud noise broke the quiet of the valley, a gurgling belch. Rubbing his stomach Genma frowned. 'Will the women notice if I tried to make a run for it?' Then he heard a noise further up the valley.

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Both wolves walked carefully around the springs keeping a very safe distance from the steaming water. Something told them they did not want to get wet. They were heading towards the hut on the far side of the valley hopefully who ever was inside would be able to tell them if Ranma's father had been seen nearby.

Ranma stopped suddenly as he smelt someone familiar. "Pop?" Glancing around wildly he saw nothing nearby, "He's been here."

Aver looked at Ranma. "Is he here now?"

Ranma had learnt much about scent and tracking over the past half year. "No, it is old, at least two days. But he has been here."

Aver looked at the valley. "Be careful, from your stories, your Father does not sound like the nicest of people."

Ranma stared out over the valley but his Pop did not magical appear, so slowly the two continued on their path to the guide's hut.

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Genma could see his boy standing there with some strange man. 'This is perfect, the boy loves me, and as soon as I confront him then we can start training again and he,' meaning Ranma, 'can fight the women that are chasing me.'

'It always goes to prove that all good things come to those who wait.' Genma carefully stood from under his tree and crept carefully around the springs. All the years of training under the master, 'may he remain buried under that rock fall for a hundred years.' meant that he could sneak with the best of them.

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Ranma and Aver reached the hut to find a little fat Chinese man out the front singing to himself. He was wearing a Mao suit and hat.

"Excuse me." Ranma had learnt that being polite cost you nothing but could get you everything. "My name is Ranma Saotome. This is my friend Aver and we were wondering if you had seen a fat Japanese man? He wears a bandana and answers to the name Genma. We think he has been here recently."

Both wolves did not present a normal tourist picture you cannot carry many clothes in a bag smaller than a pack of playing cards. While Ranma has the red cloak wrapped loosely around his neck and torso, which were gifted to him by Nenia months ago, neither were wearing shoes.

The guide brightened up, when he heard Ranma's voice then sighed, 'It just looks like more Martial Artist that won't listen to a word I say.' In broken Japanese that is what Ranma addressed him in, the man replied. "Sir's this the Valley of the accursed springs. No one comes here. This place very dangerous no one use now."

Ranma looked out over the valley and without really thinking of the feeling of dread he was experiencing he smiled. "It doesn't look very impressive."

The guide rolled his eyes, 'Here it goes again. I will explain the dangers and will be ignored. Oh well, it is what the government pays me for.' "Is more than one hundred springs, and everyone have own tragic legend."

"Ranma that must be what we can feel."

"I kind a hoped it was just a bad case of gas. Why couldn't it be Hawaii? What's wrong with the springs?"

The guide was just about to answer Ranma's question when a body fell from the sky onto the younger wolf's shoulders.

"Boy, you've come back! I always knew you'd find me!"

Ranma scrambled out from under Genma's heavy weight. "Pop, you bastard!" Without thinking, Ranma raced after his father who took a hasty step backwards at his son's shout.

"Why are you here old man?"

Genma glanced at Aver who spoke but did not move towards to larger man. "Your one of them aren't you?" Genma asked in fright, carefully walking backwards away from three men.

Ranma walked toward him as Genma retreated closer and closer to the edge of the gathered ponds. "Careful boy, I am still your father." Ranma kept walking towards Genma.

"Who says I want you. With everything you have done to me. All I want to know is where my Mother is?"

Genma looked over his shoulder at the misty ponds and looked back at his emotional son, whose hair was damp and hanging limply around his angry face. Turning quickly Genma jumped upwards and landed gently onto a bamboo pole. "Ranma follow me!"

The guide shoved an arm out to stop the Marital Artists. Ranma ignored him and leapt after his father. Sam shouted out "Please Sir, very bad if you fall in spring!" Both men ignored him.

"Pop just stop running and talk to me." Following his father over the springs Ranma chased him until Genma turned to face his son.

"I won't go easy on you boy."

"Stop running old man!"

Genma jumped from his pole with a furious shout and leapt towards his son, his left leg out to sweep Ranma from the air. Ranma jumped up to meet him, reaching out he sprang up and over Genma using his fathers leg as a springboard. He swung back and brought his legs over slamming them into Genma's back and forcing him out of the air straight into the spring waiting below. Genma quickly sunk below the surface.

"Is that all you've got?" Ranma laughed to himself and looked back over the springs to the frantically waving Guide and Aver who had had the springs explained by Sam. Ranma smiled and waved back.

Suddenly the waters below surged upwards in a fountain of cold water. Ranma looked down at a black and white blur that rose from the water. "Yow! Wha . . . wha . . . . What!" Ranma had seen many strange things but this was a first and all he could do was stare and babble as the Panda perched on the bamboo pole opposite.

"That is 'Spring of Drowned Panda.' There is very tragic legend of Panda, which drown there two thousand years ago."

Ranma leant backwards away from the Panda. "Wait a second . . . !"

Genma unaware of what had just befallen him surged forward at his son and with a forceful punch drove the lycan from his foot hold on a bamboo pole down into the cursed waters below.

The guide shook his head. "Ohhhh, not 'Spring of Drowned Girl!"

The world around Ranma crushed his head in a strangle hold and he felt the edges of his thoughts drift away. In waves of black and red light, the world behind his eyes changed into the familiar sight of the wolves' home. It was a place that he had visited and could sometimes see behind his eyes where the first wolves were born before domestication and dependence, a world so very different from our own.

Forests spread out around the wolf and he could smell each and every creature that lived there. The world was filled with an abundance of sights and sounds ready for him to explore. Nevertheless, he could sense something was wrong. The world was warping and changing shuddering under the pressure of a fierce force.

The wolf raced through its forest bounding back and forth between the trees it needed to escape what ever was coming what ever was forcing its way into its world. Darkness raced over the forest and all fell silent in its path.

The wolf came to a sudden stop as the dark surrounded it. Hackles up it turned quickly in a circle it would not surrender with out a fight. Drawing back into a crouch, he gathered his strength and sprang teeth ready to rip out this invader from its home. Only to be enveloped by the spreading dark. Light burst into his world and noise swept back in a wave of sound. He was once again free of the darkness but something was different.

Coughing and hacking Ranma rose from the cold water and stared at his stunned friend and not so surprised guide. "Uuuhhhhh." Ranma paddled over to the edge of the pool and coughed again. He felt funny, heavy but at the same time, he felt lighter. Something was wrong, very wrong. With one arm balanced on the edge of the pool, he looked down at himself and screamed.

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**Authors Note:**

Sorry, about the long wait. I get distracted very, very, very easily. I will reply to all signed reviews. If you noticed, I tried to copy directly from the Viz manga for some of the wording when Ranma and Genma fought over the water.

Please review, I can't believe I am finally in canon territory.


	17. Fluffy

**Wild Wolf**

Chapter Seventeen

**Fluffy**

**_Pre-Read By Hiryo_**

The world is made up of four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. This is a fact well known even to Corporal Nobbs. It's also wrong. There's a fifth element, and generally it's called Surprise.

-- (Terry Pratchett, The Truth)

China,

Qinghai Province

If she could just reach a little bit further she could rip that lying sack of shit's tongue out and make him eat it. Leaping high into the air, she scrambled up the tree her Father had climbed. "Come here you fat bastard." But her father did not slow down at her cry, we needn't wonder why. She could only watch as a giant Panda leapt above her across to another tree fleeing further into the forest surrounding the Pools of sorrow.

All Ranma could think about was trying to see if one really could shove someone's head up their own arse. Sliding down a long branch, she misestimated her now shorter reach and swung out over a small stream, only just catching herself before she tumbled ten meters into the cold water. She screamed out as she fell, "I'm going to kill you!" Catching a fleeting glimpse of the fat panda's big black and white arse she surged up from her fall and began to jump from tree to tree deeper into the woods.

Left far behind the father and son death match, Aver and Sam the Jusenkyo Pools guide were chatting. "So they're cursed. That's a bugger." Aver had finally stopped laughing when he saw the look on Ranma's now very female face as she swore to eviscerate her father and play skip rope with his intestines. Watching the new girl move into the deep forest he couldn't stop himself breaking into giggles.

"He really is a 'son of a bitch now."

Wandering over to the guide's hut the two men talked. "Yes, all the pools hold one of many terrible curses."

"And my friend fell into pool of what was it again . . . ?"

"Spring of drowned girl, sir; very very tragic story of girl who drown there . . . ."

"Yeah I got that, so he's a girl now. That'd piss me off and I was so looking forward to taking him to his first brothel."

"No is not permanent, with cold water he is girl yes, but with hot water he can become a man again." Off in the distance Aver saw a giant plume of dirt and sawdust rise into the air followed by a scream.

"You donkey humping moron!"

Aver knew he would rub off on the kid somehow. "So it's all right then I was worried for a moment there."

The guide was staring at the traveling plumes of destruction that were thankfully traveling away from the already cursed pools. "Yes, sir is very very lucky not to fall in. There are very very bad curses here."

Aver watched a particularly tall cloud of dust and dirt soar into the air. "So there wouldn't happen to be a spring of 'extremely well hung werewolf would there."

The guide just stared at Aver who shook his head.

"No I didn't think so."

Ranma couldn't find the old bastard, after promising to rip off his arms and beat him to death with them, and for the fifth time she had lost him. Coming to a stop perched on a swaying tree, she sneezed from the sawdust that she had made when she had shredded a tree the future Panda skin rug had been sitting in. In fact, she swore she had gotten the pain in the arse but she just couldn't find him. Leaning back against the tree, he or rather she swore as she picked splinters from her knuckles and flicked them down to the ground.

'I just had to follow him didn't I? Couldn't I leave him well enough alone? When am I going to learn, that he's only trouble. Now look at me, I couldn't even find the idiot. I'm a bloody girl. Brings a whole new meaning to 'go fuck yourself'.' Ranma laughed weakly to herself at her own sad joke.

Finally calming down she could feel her new body shorter, smaller, and a completely different center of balance. If she found the old man, he was going to rip him a new arse hole. Swinging slowly down the tree she hopped to the ground stumbling as she landed on her new feet. "Bloody hell, why me!"

From deeper in the forest, she could hear the larger creatures coming back to life after her failed attempts at gutting her father. Catching herself, she stood up in shock, what about her other form? Crawling into the shade under a tree, she sat down and tried to calm her breathing. From deep in her mind, she could feel the solid presence of the wolf, settled and watching. It was all right, it was still there, and with a shallow breath, she drew the wolf to the surface and shivered as she changed.

Sam watched the crazy man poke around the outer edge of an outer lying pool. He had picked up one of the fallen bamboo pools and was stirring the water. Why is it the stupid ones never listened? Hell no one listens to him. He may as well be speaking english. It was a question he had stopped asking himself many years ago. Some day he would leave this run down magical tourist attraction and go to America become a rock star and have lots of groupies.

Near the last explosion, they had watched in the forest a noise to tear through the very depths of hell itself poured out of the trees. Aver dropped his pole and stepped away from the cursed waters. "It was nice to meet you. I hope we won't meet again." Aver turned and ran towards the pained howls.

How to hide a two hundred kilo Panda in what seems a very small forest when a homicidal werewolf is out to make Panda mince was the question praying on Genma's mind. He had avoided Ranma's enraged attacks while not easily then with a certain expectation of his own skill that would save him. And in fact it had, while Ranma was busy blowing up trees he crept under theUmi Senken It was all well and good to seal a technique but when it was his furry hide under threat, that's another matter entirely. It was only when he thought he had lost his new daughter that she had leapt out with an attack. The attack had caught him across his shoulders, sending him plummeting into the unforgiving ground and he ended up with a butt full of splinters.

Creeping quietly he inched himself away from his attacker, which he could see above him standing on a nearby tree branch. So slowly, he kept under the Umi Senken and watched Ranma's black hair shine under the sunlight as she slowly traveled down to the ground. Her petite form was a far cry from Ranma's former muscular teen body. Silently Genma watched Ranma curse his new form and walk under the shade of a tree close to Genma's hiding place. Slumping down the boy in girl's skin sat down and with a brief heat haze glare Genma saw the wolf his 'precious' son had become and he 'Genma' had subsequently sold 'for training purposes' to a dog fighting pit.

Sliding backwards on his sore rump Genma stared at his were wolf son, now that he thought about it the wolf was larger and more silver the last time he had seen him, in fact now his fur was even blacker than before. Not that it could ever be considered small for a wolf, but he thought the boy was well bigger. Suddenly the boy-turned-wolf-turned girl-turned-wolf ripped its head upwards and howled forcing Genma to cover his furry ears with two paws. His son was such a bitch.

If you strip the bark away from a certain trees branches, youcan use it as a temporary toothbrush. That does not mean it tastes good or doesn't leave splinters in your tongue. Xian Pu spat out a piece of wood and watched her fellow Amazons practice their ancient art. She and a group of her peers had left the village for a training trip before the annual village championship. Missing the excitement Genma had caused and the group sent out to catch him.

Xian Pu was certain in her own abilities but she knew it never hurt to practice. They had just eaten lunch and were quietly resting before they were to travel back to the village to prepare for the tournament tomorrow. The Amazon camp had been set up in the center of a small clearing as far away from the various enemies of the amazons as possible that unfortunately left them relatively close to the Accursed springs.

Nevertheless, the young women had all had first hand experience with the cursed water. A fellow Amazon not two years ago had fallen in 'Spring of Drowned Hamster' and had been eaten by a mountain cat, before they could find and save her. Standing Xian Pu walked over to her friend Qui Me who was practicing her balance on a wire tied between two trees. "Have you heard the wolves again, my sister."

Qui Me walked in a handstand up and down the thin wire. "No, Nu Xi said she couldn't find anymore signs of the beasts since last night." Xian Pu laughed as a fellow Amazon heard her name mentioned and waved while in the middle of a practice bout. "She said that she had found the remains of a pony, but it doesn't look like a pack but it wasn't a lone wolf either."

Xian Pu leant against a tree and watched her friend walk backwards and forwards on her hands.

"Just how is Fluffy these days?"

Xian Pu would have blushed, as a child she had had a stuffed wolf given to her by her mother before she was killed in a Musk attack. It's soft black fur once black and plush now worn and ragged, and one glass eye missing during an exciting adventure when she was six, but Xian Pu still kept it on her bedding at home. "He's fine, now Nu Xi thinks they are just traveling through and won't get any closer to the village."

Qui Me sighed. "Remember when you wouldn't eat for a week because we couldn't find fluffy."

Xian Pu laughed, "Yes, but that was years ago and I'm a warrior now."

"We are soon to return to the village and the competition. How do you feel?"

"I don't know there are many fine warriors this year."

"You know this is your year Xian Pu."

With a certain degree of false modesty, Xian Pu smiled and laughed. "I have been practicing. Grandmother says she is pleased with my progress."

Qui Me laughed. Xian Pu joined her getting Kho Lon to admit anything was like pulling bears teeth.

Raising her arms above her head Xian Pu pulled herself up on to branch above her head and began to climb the tree. Before they began to pack up which would not take long, she wanted to get a look at the forest around them and feel the sun on her back. Suddenly off in the distance close to the cursed springs a crash sounded, dirt and sawdust rose in the air. Swaying with the unexpected breeze Xian Pu caught herself, and leapt down from the tree to meet her fellow Amazons.

Further out in the forest more explosions sounded. Quickly the training Amazons rushed to the center of the clearing. Taking control Xian Pu looked at her sisters. "Be careful make no noise. We must find out what is happening." The well-trained group turned and spread out through the forest running towards the explosions.

Creeping forward Genma still in Panda form inched closer to his despondent son. The wolf was lying underneath the tree panting once it had stopped howling. The older martial artist was not one to pass up an opportunity and saw his chance at catching his son unguarded. Just because the boy had escaped his wise actions in the past did not mean Genma couldn't catch the little bugger again.

Fate picked her up and dusted her off only to bitch slap her down again. The black wolf peered unseeing into the forest. 'I have eight nipples!' This fact revolved around her mind and bounced off the sides. 'I have eight nipples!' Now Ranma should be forgiven for not noticing what was about to happen, in fact a house could have fallen on her and a bunch of midgets sing a song about her shoes and she wouldn't have paid any attention.' I have eight fucking nipples! I will chew my father's nuts off and make castanets.' The wolf was swimming against an overwhelming wave of rage in any attempt to calm the young martial artists mind.

Not far from the Ranma's final successful attack on his father, the Amazon hunting party that had been following the fat thief were coming quickly up on the two martial artists. Their leader Lee Xun had watched their quarries fight with the younger man and the subsequent curse but had missed Ranma's dunking as they had all started cracking up at the luckless thief's curse.

Now they were running through the forest trailing after the elusive Panda and his destructive wake. "This thief must not escape the retribution of the Amazons my sisters." Lee Xun looked at her small party and led them towards the unknowing Panda.

'One bottle, two bottle, three bottle floor . . . ." On the last count, Genma rose out of the Umi Senken and flew out of hiding at his oblivious child.

'If I just bite off one non essential body part for every nipple he'll last much much longer. Does his head count as essential?' At that though, his dreams of revenge were shattered as a fat and dusty Panda appeared out of nowhere.

Springing onto her paws Ranma snarled at the creature. The bear slammed into the smaller animal and caught it before Ranma could fully prepare. Kicking the lupine in the chest and knocking her back into the branches of the tree she had settled under. Ranma cried out at the surprise. Ranma's bitch form was smaller than his male form thought still giant for a wild wolf.

Bouncing back off the tree Ranma leapt towards his furry father and straight for the panda's throat. Genma settled back on onto his back paw with his front arms raised. Catching the flying wolf he flung her up into the air and caught her in a roundhouse kick thrusting her again back into the trees. Slower now Ranma staggered slightly as she recovered and circled around the balanced Panda. With a snarl, Ranma plunged forward again aiming low and fast.

The tree cover on Genma's left burst open and a second wolf appeared. Aver had raced from the springs and was the first of the watchers to reach the fight. Hearing the two magical beasts' fight he raced to the aid of his friend and hoped that Ranma had not done anything too foolish.

He found Ranma diving at his fathers back legs in an attempt to hobble the Panda. Slamming into the fat animal's side, he forced Genma into a fall. Ranma stopped his dive and drew back as she was joined by Aver both wolves began to pace towards Genma who was standing his ground. Back against a dying pine tree, he looked back and forth at the two were wolves. Aver edged to the left while Ranma stayed in place in front of Genma.

Darting quickly to the right Genma was brought up short with a fierce growl from Ranma. Bringing his paws in front of his face Genma from somewhere brought out a white flag and began waving it. Stepping back Ranma watched his father slowly walk forward keeping a close eye on his old man. The old fart would have something up his sleeve, even if he didn't have a sleeve at the moment.

Life as a Chinese Amazon was tough but it had its rewards. Training until your body thrummed with its own natural power was one of them. At the moment, you could have played a violin sonata on Xian Pu's nerves.

She had studied and conditioned her body in preparation for the next day's competition, so it probably was not the best time for any outsider to arrive in the Amazon's territory. Creeping through the trees, her group crept in from the north hiding all notion of their presence from the intruders.

Qui Me turned back from her scouting position moved quickly back to her friend. "It's the wolves." Xian Pu shook her head in a negative.

"No, wolf could cause the damage we have found." The amazons had found several of the places of missed strikes Ranma had made at her father.

"Those that trespass must have stumbled across the creatures. Should we just let them fight it out?"

"Wolves would not just attack for no reason there must be more to this, any way we can't let wolves or intruders free in our territory." Qui Me agreed and crept back to point. Coming quickly to the small clearing all the noise was coming from the Amazons small group peered in at the fighting animals. They could see no human fighter only two wolves and a giant Panda. Xian Pu gasped and stared at Ranma the wolf looked exactly like Fluffy, except with with two eyes. The amazons were very confused.

Genma watched his son snarl up at him, while his friend made sure Genma made no fast move. He had beaten the boy before, and he could do it again. He was nothing compared to the old master and he had defeated that old demon, himself. Genma's pride is a strange thing. Waving his white flag, Genma crept closer to Ranma he just needed to talk to the boy, if the boy was tied securely to a ten ton rock now, all the better.

Suddenly from the south six Amazon's burst out of the under brush. Genma stared for five seconds, bugger he had forgotten about them. The werewolves turned to stare at the multi-hair colored female warriors that leapt to attack.

Xian Pu watched her sister Amazon's she had thought were back at the village appear in front of the fighting animals. "Thief!" One Amazon screamed as she drove a giant stone mace at the head of the Panda. The hunting party had finally caught up with their quarry.

Ducking Genma drew a wooden sign. 'Ladies I am just an innocent Panda.' But since it was in Japanese, they had no idea what it said.

Lee Xun laughed and held a hand up to stop her fellow hunters. Genma and Ranma both could not follow the Amazon's threats while Aver just shook his head and laughed.

"We saw you honourless beast. The curse of the springs won't save your hide" A green haired Amazon who had had her favorite spear ruined by Genma when he had been sneaking through the village growled.

"I think I would like a panda skin rug." One of the amazons shot a look at their leader. "What of the wolves?" Lee Xun hefted her battle hammer, which is spiked on one side and rough like a meat tenderizer on the other. "They are probably fellow victims of the spring it does not matter, kill them." Two of her sisters drew arrows for the small hunting bows they had been carrying.

Ranma and Aver had not been standing quietly while the amazons had been talking. The two weres watched the angry women and began to both back away from Genma's hunters. Ranma watched his father drop to the ground and hug a beach ball, where he got the beach ball from no one knows.

He was going to act innocent in front of the vengeance-seeking women, as if Ranma hadn't seen that before, except his Pop hadn't been a giant Panda then. His wolf could now that he wasn't focused on Genma smell another group of women standing in wait to the side. 'I knew it, even when I'm not there he's making trouble for me, well it's his problem he can deal with this.'

With a fast glance both wolves turned and ran, unknowingly employing the Saotome final technique. 'Boy what are you . . . .' Genma dropped the sign and went back to rolling around on the ground with his ball. 'I'm just a Panda, just a panda.'

Watching before they could enter the clearing, Xian Pu and her group saw the two wolves turn tail and run. Fluffy was leaving. The amazons reacted quickly and drew firing their hunting bows.

Aver who was closer to the women avoided the deadly hail, but Ranma back peddling madly her back legs passed her front legs in a desperate attempt to avoid the sharp and pointy missiles was caught and pinned to the ground a hunting arrow passing through her right thigh. Ranma howled in pain and swore she was going to castrate her father using dynamite.

"Your little friends are not getting away fat man." At this Qui Me shouted out a welcome to her sisters and Xian Pu and the rest of their training group walked out of the underbrush.

Lee Xun watched the other Amazon's appear and smiled. "It is good to see you. I hope your time has been well spent." Xian Pu had her bonbory out and walked around the circle of Amazons that had surrounded the panda.

"Lee Xun, what is happening here?" Slamming her hammer down on the spot the Panda's head had been a microsecond ago Lee Xun frowned.

"A thief has fallen into cursed spring Xian Pu." The younger women looked at the fat animal who was chewing a piece of bamboo.

"Are you sure, we don't want the 'Chicken' incident again." A voice from the back of the gathered women spoke up.

"How were we to know it was the cable guy?"Another voice shouted.

"We can't be expected to notice everything."

While most of the Amazon's watched Genma, and the rest of the circus. Lee Xun boiled some water and Ranma continued to quietly whimper and curse her father. 'I'm going to peel of his fur and start a rumor that Panda testicles are an ancient Chinese aphrodisiac.'

Quickly done, Xian Pu took the water from Lee Xun so the animals could be thoroughly covered if they transformed into bloodthirsty powerful hut-to-hut salesmen. Flinging the water in a quick arc at the panda a dripping Genma appeared his white Gi shredded from Ranma's attacks and frantically looking for a way out.

Flinging the water Xian Pu covered both of the wolves, which stayed wolves, though the one who had been injured seem to get bigger. "See they were just innocent wolves, now who feels bad?"

Ranma shot a dirty look at Xian Pu 'Great he was bleeding, wet but hey, he's a guy again. Still gonna rip the old man a new one.' His fellow werewolf just looked at the women wet fur sticking up everywhere and gave them the look; you know the one only canines can do. It says, 'you have the opposable thumb and you decide to do this.'

Quickly ten swords circled Genma's neck and stopped him from swallowing let alone moving, while Xian Pu carefully approached the wounded wolf. Amazons were taught from an early age to treasure and protect nature, that everything they did rebounded back on them and that it was important to treat all nature as part of their own lives.

Kho Lon was going to be pissed when she learnt that they had tried to kill some real wolves. Looking closely at the large black wolf who was watching her carefully, Ranma didn't want to be stabbed again, now black spots were dancing in front of his eyes.

Xian Pu was reminded of her childhood toy except her stuffed wolf didn't growl and try to bite her face off. Xian Pu inched closer to Ranma who kept growling then whimpered as he shifted the arrow still stuck through his leg. Little stars appeared in Xian Pu's eyes the angry wolf was so cute. "Fluffy, did the nasty spear hurt you?" Ranma would have lunged forward to bite off Xian Pu's face if he hadn't been in such massive pain.

Behind her, the other Amazon's were keeping a close eye on Genma not giving him a chance to make a run for it.

"Ladies, this is just big misunderstanding." Lee Xun hefted her hammer and laughed. "I would recognize that fat arse any where, once you've seen it climbing out your kitchen window it's hard to miss." She had been picked for this hunting mission because of her fluency of spoken Japanese and not just, because he had tried to make off with her triple distilled peach brandy, of which she was very attached.

"The matriarch's wanted to see you fat man. They say that you move like the coach-roach-who-shall-not-be-mentioned." The Amazon's have long memories and Happosai left his mark. Genma would have started shaking if those ten swords had not been circling his neck.

Lee Xun looked up from the stock still martial artist at Xian Pu and the wolves. "As they're not cursed does anyone want to make sure they are placed out side the home fields and away from the herds."

Xian Pu who had been wondering where she could find a collar for the injured wolf looked at Lee Xun "I will."

Aver who saw the look in the purple haired girls eyes as she stared at the injured Ranma turned tail catching all the women on the back foot and dodging Amazons sped out of the clearing and far away from crazy women with bows ands spears. It wasn't running away it was a tactical withdrawal.

Ranma cursed his cowardly friend and watched Xian Pu get closer, his strength leaving him along with his blood as she crooned softly. "Who's a big bad wolf then?" 'Oh please some one shot me, again!' Ranma shut his eyes and yielded to the waiting darkness.

**Authors Note**

Check out my yahoo group for any updates.

I have passed the 60,000 word mark. At which point does it become a series?

Thanks for reviewing.


	18. It All Begins With a Kiss

**Wild Wolf**

Chapter Eighteen

**It All Begins With a Kiss**

Pre-Read By Hiryo

_Those who beat their swords into plowshares will do the plowing for those who do not_

The small patch of light from a cracked board was the only illumination in the room that the wolf found himself in. The musty scent of year old stored grain permeated the walls and floor of the room; it made his muzzle itch. Before it was the home of one wounded wolf, the room must have been used as a grain storeroom.

On waking, the black wolf had been groggy. The wolf's mind had raced with panic, trapped he paced the corners of the room. Slowly Ranma's mind had taken control from the wolf, letting him study the storeroom. The walls were thick and the door closed tight.

In a corner he found a neatly folded blanket he had been sleeping on, that held the smell of the crazy girl. Ranma had yet to spend much time around girls his own age and hoped that they were not all like those he had just met. The blanket and water bowl were the only things in the room besides himself.

Pacing backwards and forwards, the wolf limped still tender from the arrow wound. Through the cracked board, the young wolf could smell and hear a village preparing itself for the night. Tantalizing scents drifted on the wind as families cooked their evening meals, the cooking fire of a dwelling near by brought with it the scent of frying beef and garlic.

Someone had pork buns steaming the rising bread's yeasty smell made the wolf's mouth water. A noise broke the silence in the storeroom it was his stomach grumbling. Healing the arrow wound had taken a lot out of him. Not that he wasn't hungry most of the time. The hundreds of smells from cooking fires all over, what he thought must have been a village drifted over his sensitive nose tempting him with pork, ginger, roast duck, steamed rice, dumplings, and fish soup. Rearing back on his hind legs, he was as tall as a man and could push his nose through the gap in the wall. He snorted a deep breath of village air and whined.

Freedom was so close, but so far. With a sigh, he landed back on four feet and went back to pacing the small room.

Before he had a chance to change back to his human form, examine his new scars, and just why he wasn't a girl anymore. He heard soft footsteps nearing the door, he could smell the girl that had left him his blanket and talked to him before he collapsed. The door opened a crack, Ranma backed into a corner quickly guarding his still tender leg.

Standing in the doorway stood a girl in a heavy leather apron covering her from the neck down and a beach ball sized mallet resting on her shoulder.

Ranma stared up at her, she began to speak in a slow gentle voice, but he could not understand her; it was all in some Chinese dialect he did not understand.

What Ranma did understand was that she was holding a very big hammer with an oil lantern hanging from the end, and if he changed back into human form he was going to be in even more trouble than he already was. Admittedly, he was stuck as a wolf, in a strange village filled with crazy women, somewhere nearby was his father clawing for his attention was the fear he hadn't been imagining being turned into a girl.

Looking back and forth from the girl's cannon ball sized mallet and the open door behind her Ranma came to a decision. Head bowed Ranma began to wag his tail.

Wearing her special apron Xian Puu reserved for dealing with Mousse when he had a head cold. She made her way to the room she had left Fluffy to recuperate. After flushing the wolf's arrow wound clean and packing it with healing herbs, she had left Fluffy to sleep. Walking to the old storage hut Xian Puu could hear everyone getting ready for the competition tomorrow. Winter was drawing to an end and this festival combined the coming of age for all the young warriors and the arrival of spring.

The village was busy with barely contained excitement. All the households were making their specialty family dishes, preparing them for the feast tomorrow, which would be given to the winner of the competition and then ceremonially given back to the village by the gracious winner; so that everyone could stuff themselves silly.

The Amazon could already taste her aunty Fuu's famous pork buns, but she was going to have to wait until after she feed her new pet before she could try and wheedle a bun out of aunty before the festival. When she had left him that afternoon she had made sure the door was securely fastened she didn't want anyone hurting Fluffy. Grandmother Khou Lon on seeing the wolf in her arms as she had arrived back in the village had just puffed on her pipe and warned her, "If that dog pisses on the grain you're the one who will be eating yellow buns."

Carefully cracking open the door she watched the black wolf scramble backwards as far away from the door as it could. She whispered to him "Calm down Fluffy. I have your dinner." Keeping a keen eye on the wolf, she quickly entered the hut and pushed the door shut behind her. She carefully hung the oil lantern from a hook on the wall.

"Who's a good boy? Did you miss me?" Talking softly Xian Puu reached behind her apron and pulled out the beef bones she had saved from boiling up the stock for tomorrow's Ramen. At the sight of the string bag, which was dripping slightly the hesitant wags of Fluffy's tail, picked up energy and the wolf knelt down and started yipping. The sight of the wolf that was almost vibrating from the speed of his waving tail made Xian Puu smile

"You are a good boy; I knew you were a good boy."

It did not take much for Ranma to decide his next course of action. Yipping he knelt down and lifted up a single paw wagging his tale so hard he thought it might fall off he grinned and let his tongue hang out, big harmless dopey dog style.

'As long as you're the only way out of here girl I am your best friend, now hand over the bones.'

Hesitantly Xian Puu tipped the bones onto the ground and watched as Fluffy did not rush to them but remained in his pose as if her were waiting for something. "Go on they're yours." As though he had understood her, the wolf shook his head and approached the bones snatching one from the pile he backed away into his corner and began to crunch the bone. The salty beefy flavor of marrow filled Ranma's mouth as he crunched down into the bone.

While Ranma enjoyed his meal Xian Puu studied the wolf, her Grandmother claimed that wolves had been hunted out of forest around their mountains a hundred years before Xian Puu had been born. Either the Phoenix had killed them to stop them entering their territory, or the bitches had been kidnapped by the Musk and used as brood mares for their twisted breeding programs.

Grandmother claimed that even then, the wolves were not the thick muscled healthy looking beasts as the one they had found.

Watching the wolf splinter the thick beef bone she studied the way the golden glow of the lamp made his fur shine. Fluffy's fangs crunched up the bone and he quickly finished. He was looking back up at her his tail wagging, and tongue hanging out.

He just couldn't be a wild beast, she had cared for injured wild animals before and even when she had been easing their pain, they had been scared of her and she had the scars to prove how viscous even a rabbit could be when it thought you were going to wring its neck. There was a strange glint in the wolfs eye, and for some reason she didn't feel threatened.

Ranma watched the girl, he hadn't seen someone with such strange hair before, and if that was a stupid thing to think about while being trapped somewhere in deepest China, with his father on the loose, by people who if they find out he's not really wolf might do anything.

Now Ranma had never heard of overacting but if Aver could see him, crouch, tail-wagging tongue hanging out, he would be rolling on the floor laughing. If he could speak he would have been saying, 'Look at me, aren't I cute, don't I look harmless. I can't be any sort of shape changing Martial Artist. You wouldn't hit a cute little wolfie would you?'

Eyes opened so wide he whined and rolled over on to his back. With two short steps, the Chinese warrior dropped her weapon, cooed, sunk to her knees, and began to scratch the thick fluffy silver fur on Ranma's stomach; unable to control the urge to scratch the adorable fluffy wolf.

Outside the village Aver was studying the warriors on patrol, every five minutes two girls would pass in front of him both carried seven-foot steel tipped poles. He was waiting for them to pass by once again, so he could slip into the village.

The redhead werewolf had watched the female warriors hang Ranma's father up like a strung chicken. Before he could heroically return to the fray in a desperate fight for Ranma's freedom, the wolf had been bundled up by one of the cutest of the fighting girls and taken back to their village. Who would have thought it, all those cartoons were right, there were really hidden Amazon tribes out there, all looking for men to help them in their hedonistic religious rights.

Right now, they were probably using Ranma to further their desperate female quests. Forgetting for the moment Ranma had been stuck as a wolf. Lucky bastard, he was probably being smothered by dozens of nubile young Amazon women, ready at the slightest moment to fulfill his wildest desire.

Aver had to admit to himself though that Ranma's deepest most depraved desire probably involved eating as much as he could and learning a new martial arts move. He could imagine him now, being feed peeled grapes.

Aver sat down for a moment to contemplate this village of beautiful Amazon warriors, he wanted in. a shimmer glimmers and where there had once been a wolf stood now a red haired man. He opened the small all purpose bag he had hanging around his neck, which he carried in wolf or man.

Quickly he covered himself, grinning he made his way to the amazons protective wall with his mind only focused on one thing, a fast dash he was over the wall and only just missed the Amazon guard standing at the bottom of the wall out of the wind, where she had grabbed a chance for a quick cigarette break.

Sitting in solemn silence in a deep dark hole, awaiting the sensation of a short sharp shock, Genma tried to chew through his gag . . . again.

Left to guard the fat thief after Khou Lon had interrogated him; two Amazons picked their teeth and watched the sky. It was merely a formality as the elder had decreed; tomorrow they would let the trespassing male take part in the ceremonial match of Amazon football, after the champion fight. The good news he was on the team, the bad news, he was the ball.

The door to the storeroom closed with a solid thunk, as Ranma watched the girl leave with an empty bag and a grin. The werewolf sighed and licked his chops, he had been feed, had a room of his own and a beautiful girl rubbed his stomach, overall he had had worse nights.

Like the time Genma had decided to take them hiking through death valley in the middle of summer, by 'them' he had really meant Ranma and by 'Hiking' he meant 20 hour non stop speed run. Thinking about his father made him angry and frustrated, he had so many emotions attached to his father that made thinking about him confusing, maybe when he got past the mind consuming fury he would be able to not try and rip his throat out at first sight.

Ranma went back to staring at the gap in the wall, which let in the moon light. Pushing his nose up to the board he could smell the village, drawing back, he tried to thrust a paw through but it was too big his thick claws could not even get reach through the gap.

The air seemed to twist around the wolf and was replaced by a very dirty, very naked, Ranma. This shape change heals the last of his arrow wound. With care, he got to work at quietly taking apart the back wall of the storeroom, being careful to keep an ear out to anyone going by. It was the work of minutes and two opposable thumbs to be free.

On leaving the room Ranma kept to the shadows, he was sure being found in the middle of an Amazon village would not make him any friends. Creeping from hut to hut, he avoided a patrolling Amazon with a two meter sword balanced on her shoulder. His red cloak and ancient silver pin wrapped around his shoulders was all he was wearing, his bag lost at the springs when he had attacked his father.

A jacket and some pants someone had helpfully forgotten to bring in for the night solved one of his problems. Passing the corner of a small home, Ranma caught an elusive scent one part sweat, one part fear, ten parts coward . . . Genma.

Xian Puu sighed as she worked away on the leather of her challenge harness. The smell of linseed oil filled her room; she had set to polishing it after snatching a pork bun from her aunt.

Now she sat at the hearth fire of the rooms she shared with her father.She had been waiting for the competition, this year she had come of age and could finally attend, her mother had been champion for seven years, and nothing was going to stop her from winning.

The garlands of flowers that were traditionally given to the champion, this case her mother hung on the walls of Xian Puu's room. Her grandmother had saved them for her, preserving the dried flowers till she was old enough to not try to eat them.

Xian Puu liked to think that if her mother was here she would be proud of her. One of the last memories of her mother was being given her Fluffy, the stuffed toy. It had been just after her mother's last competition. She remembered watching the final battle her mother facing off with an Amazon warrior four times her size armed with two meat cleavers taller than her. When it has seemed she would lose Xian Puu had held back her tears and on her Mothers win she had been given the soft toy for behaving.

The wounded wolf reminded her so much of her mother, she had loved to tell Xian Puu stories about all the animals that had once dwelt around the village. So it was ironic that a tiger musk had been the one to kill her. Tomorrow she would take part in the challenge for the first time, and it was going to be for her mother no obstacle would be large enough to stop her.

On the other side of the open square at the centre of the Amazon village Ranma watched the Guards standing over the hole, Genma was stuck down. His nose had led him through the village to this spot and so he sat in the shadow of an alleyway between two village homes. He watched the two women make sure his father did not make a great escape. At one end of the square, two towering logs were sunk vertically into the packed earth swinging between them on heavy iron chains was another log battered and chipped. A small stage sat to the side. Homes surrounded the other three sides of the square in the moon light he could make out ribbons and flags decorating the homes, and posts around the square. Running in front of some huts were several wooden trestle tables decorated with white table clothes that glowed in the moonlight.

The two women stood back to back and even though they were in the middle of their own village, a place that should not be unsafe for any Amazon. But they remained vigilante and though they chatted back and forth did not stop from keeping a constant gaze over the square. Watching the warriors he began to step out on to the square and steal back his father, when the curtain covering the window above his head was pulled back and a basin of water was emptied over his head.

Now, wet and female for only the second time, Ranma stopped frozen her skin felt tight, unbalanced, she fell forward and only her quick reflexes stopped her from slamming face first into the ground. Water pooled around her hands, they were so much smaller than they should be.

Crawling backwards into the darker shadows of the alley Ranma slowly drew a hand across her face and bit back a cry. Picking herself up she was torn with the desire to storm across the square and guards or no guards rip pull Genma's arms or scream. With a frustrated cry, Ranma leapt to her feet and ran away from the square as behind her people reacted to her shout, and like a kicked anthill women warriors began to run through the village.

Dodging Amazons on the lookout for an intruder in the village, she finally reached the wall. It encircled the village, and was made of tree trunks thicker than Genma's waist with daub filling in the gaps between the logs.

Dashing from a low bush that backed onto a home he stopped before she reached the wall a guard walked along the wall head ducked down she pulled a bag from her belt and as Ranma watched began to roll a cigarette in the lee of the wall. Senses on high alert Ranma caught another familiar scent, Aver on the other side of the wall. Before she could warn his fellow wolf, she heard Aver's footsteps approach the wall and jump landing at the feet of the smoking women. Before Ranma or Aver could react, the dog end was dropped and Aver had a very sharp and heavy sword held up to his throat.

Aver sat watching Panda Genma sitting on the otherside of the Amazon's oubliette.

Not long after Genma landed in the hole, a mysterious shower of rain had fallen just over the pit triggering his new curse. "The only reason I am not ripping your throat out at this very minute,' Aver said, 'is because Ranma has reserved this right for his very own. But if you make one wrong move I'll happily chew on your intestines till I choke." Aver said this in a calm and quite voice as if he was completely uninterested in how this statement was taken.

Genma shuffled as far as he could away from the cheerfully grinning werewolf.

"Just so you know. But since it seems we are going to be roommates I think we should get to know each other just a bit better." With that, Aver ripped the leather bonds that held his writs and advanced on a captive Genma.

The Amazon had been shouting for her sisters before either wolf could react and Aver had been held at sword point and bundled up by the half dozen warriors and he was being marched away. While he was dragged away, he caught sight of Ranma in her girl form tucked into the shadows huddled deep in her red cloak.

It was assumed that Aver had been the source of the cry in the centre of the village. On the way to what he assumed was an interrogation involving whipped creams and cherries, he attempted to talk to some of the women guarding him "Girls, girls, there is more than enough of me to go around, form an orderly queue and, . . . "

Before he could carry on with his patented chat up lines on the beautiful warriors, the sword at his throat was tightened and he stopped talking. It was hard to talk when your throat's cut; hard, not impossible.

Someone was sent for a village elder; as he waited, Aver saw Ranma out the corner of his eye carefully keeping out of sight of the female warriors. A warrior with green hair held back in a high ponytail jogged back from the home of a leader of the village and told them, that they were to put the intruder in the pit with the fat-man until after the competition tomorrow.

As long as he wasn't Musk or Phoenix then it could wait till the morning.

Grumbling that her cigarette break was brought to an early end, the orange haired Amazon with her sword to Aver's throat whipped it away and pushed the man down into the hole.

A heavy iron grate clanked into place over his head; luckily he landed on something soft bouncing off the sleeping Genma's furry stomach. After the guards had conferred that there was nothing and no one hiding around the village they went back to bed or returned to patrol.

Hidden in what she thought was an abandoned house, in much disrepair its roof's terra-cotta tiles were cracked and quite a few were missing. Avoiding the Amazon's on patrol, Ranma found herself trapped.

While she could imagine leaving her own father to what seemed the tender mercies of the Amazon's Aver was another story. So, even though she knew Aver could hold his own in most any battle fighting an entire village of what looked like warrior women was just a little bit beyond his capabilities.

Sighing she pulled her cloak around her shoulders and sat to wait for morning and hopefully a chance to get Aver out of there.

Xian Puu woke before her Great-grandmother could prod her with her stick to wake up. "Wake up lazy bones. What are you doing lying in bed when you should be up preparing yourself? No slugabed ever won the competition." Rubbing sleep from her eyes Xian Puu's yawn made her jaw crack and she grinned.

"Would you like it if I never went to bed, Grandmother." The village elder when viewed by most people from outside the village was seen as a badly wrinkled prune no larger than a child, held up by her six foot walking stick. What they didn't know was that like a fine port, the purest essence of the superior fighting power of the Amazons was concentrated down into this ancient. If she looked like you could drop kick her then it was your own fault if you lost your leg on the attempt.

Khou Lon had been training Xian Puu since before her mother's death and drew all her inspiration and will to fight from her.

"Bah, I could have beaten these pitiful competitors after a week at twenty four hour surveillance. With one arm tied behind my back." With that the old women hoped out of her granddaughter's bedroom and back in to the kitchen.

Xian Puu's father had risen early to make his daughter breakfast to prepare for the early morning round robin start of the competition. Using the cold water held in a jug beside her bed, Xian Puu quickly woke up and joined her family at the table, "I'm sorry father. You know I don't eat before I fight. Thank you for the thought."

He smiled at her, "Ha, more for me then." The little man who was often passed over in the female dominated home dug into the meal he knew would not be eaten by his daughter.

The night before she had laid out her carefully oiled and polished amour; pieces of it like the pair of shin greaves and shoulder armour belonged to her mother, the hardened leather and layered lacquer chest plate was as light as a feather and had been given to her on her fifteenth birthday a present from her aunts. Under all these she wore a light weight silk shirt and pants.

Resting against the far wall were her bonbori the two exaggerated maces weighing more that 50 kilograms each. She had worked hard, sweated and trained to be able to handle them as though they only weigh a few grams.

As she tightened the last tie her grandmother came back into Xian Puu's room. "I can not believe my eyes. When did you get so big? It seems like only yesterday you were falling over Mousse and pulling his hair because he stole your favorite knife"

"That was yesterday grandmother."

Khou Lon held a hand out to Xian Puu who saw, held in her palm a small leather pouch. "I think you should have these."

"What is it?"

"Take it and find out." Xian Puu picked the bag up and loosened the top pouring the contents into her upheld hand. Two tennis ball sized amethyst spheres tumbled out. There were holes drilled carefully through the centers of each sphere.

"What are these?" Xian Puu turned them over in her palm a sun beam from her open widow made them glow.

"I think it's time you had these, they were your mothers, and her mothers, my daughter, and they were mine a long time ago. I wore these the last year I won the village championship."

Xian Puu smiled and leaned down to hug her grandmother, "Thank you I will wear them with pride.

Walking out in to the village square she was joined by her friend Qui Mee, another warrior of the Amazon who had been training with Xian Puu since they were children; as she walked to the village square. "You're going to do great today, Xian Puu I can just feel it." The rest of the village was beginning to wake up.

"Of course I'm going to do great; I didn't train with my grandmother for nothing. Today I'm going to win the competition and everyone will know I'm the best fighter in the village."

"Of course, there is no one better." Xian Puu placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I still think you should be taking part."

"No, not me. You know I have guard duty today, maybe next year. Did you hear they caught a strange man inside the village walls?" Qui Mee asked Xian Puu,

"It wasn't that sneaky panda was it?"

"No, some red haired foreign man. Mai Lee said was cute."

"Was?"

"Oh, he's still alive they put him in the pit. They are going to question him after the competition."

"I suppose he's not a good enough fighter to defeat anyone?"

"Maybe, if he is I am sure there will be many contenders for a chance to face him." They stopped for a moment at a village water pump for Xian Puu to fill her water flask.

"Can you please feed Fluffy for me? I didn't want to wake him this morning. I left something for him in our kitchen. I really think he is some one's lost pet."

"Fine, I can help you. Only you would try to adopt a wolf."

"It's all right I think someone has tamed him. He took food from my hand last night."

"Normal people would have just killed it before it could bite them."

"I couldn't have done that to Fluffy." Qui Mee laughed to herself, as they reached the village square it seemed empty, most the spectators wouldn't gather till the later fights it was bare except for the sixty or so women that were there to compete.

Qui Mee took Xian Puu's hand and grasped it tight.

"I wish you the best of luck sister. I need to get to work; I should be off before the final fight. Now, I'm expecting you to be there when I come back." Xian Puu squeezed her fingers and smiled.

"I am not going to disappoint you." The two girls split and went there own ways, Xian Puu went to join the rest of the waiting competitors.

Ranma had not slept that night, she remained in a constant state of alertness and as the sun rose she stood and stretched her arms and legs joints cracking. She felt so small compared to her male form. Hopefully the man who had been living at the springs could explain what had happened, and how to cure it.

She needed to get Aver out of the pit and free from this village. They were supposed to be finding her Mother. Though how she was going to explain that she now had a daughter could be put on the bottom of the list of things to worry about at the moment. From the safety of what she had worked out during the night must have been a fire damaged home that hadn't been pulled down and rebuilt yet, Ranma watched as women many carrying heavy, oversized weapons, in groups chatting together and by themselves silent and forbidding.

All seemed to be heading in towards the open village space and the prison holding Aver and his father. Watching a family walk in front of the half ruined house, Mother had two crossed long spears resting in sheaves from her back, her bright yellow hair held back in three pigs tails threaded with feathers. Holding the hands of what must have been their two young children a girl and boy was a man who was probably their father who carried in his arms a heavy cloth wrapped bowl, the scent of spices and freshly baked dough rose from under the cloth.

Just as the passed the window Ranma was spying from the little boy pushed his sister too the ground, for some sibling reason only obvious to them. The girl screamed and pulled from her dress pocket a pen sized dagger and chased after the boy. Laughing the mother plucked the dagger from her daughter's hands and bopped her on the nose with the handle. She waved a finger in front of her nose and frowned. Ranma could not understand what the mother was saying but he knew she was telling her off. Hiding from his sister behind his mother's legs the little boy stuck his tongue out at his sibling. The father wasn't sleeping and he caught the boy under the ear with a hand and grabbed his hand.

With a glance at each other in exasperation the couple with their much quieter children carried on to the growing commotion Ranma could hear in the centre of the village. It looked like he would miss all the excitement if he didn't get a move on.

Sitting on a on a low platform situated in front of the pit holding there two current prisoners, were the elders of the village, the judges of the championship. So far they had presided over the first elimination matches, and the Amazon warriors were making a good show for the gathered people. At the moment in the last of the semifinal fights, a large women called Ton Ick, built like a brick wall with a personality to match was facing off against the captain of the villages guards, named Janee a mature warrior; her long black hair flowing free around her face, who had served the village for over ten years and was deadly with his bolas, she could bring down a full grown musk oxen with a throw.

Unfortunately the overpowering strength of her opponent was too much and though she was the better fighter, the other women outpaced her and with an almighty scream brought her weapon, a heavy flanged mace taller than a grown man and twice as heavy, down on the twisted chain the captain had been using as a shield snapping the links and sending her sprawling to the base of the swinging log stand.

Coming to her feet, the captain laughed, "Congratulations that was a good fight." Her opponent leapt down and shook her outstretch hand. The two warriors parted company and the winner returned to wait for the final match.

While Janee went to watch the final match she had missed competing in. The final fight for title of village champion had come down to Xian Puu and Ton Ick. After being given a chance to prepare after her battle the two faced each other on the log beam.

As the whole village focused on this fight Ranma drew her cloak tight around her and made her way sneaking along the crowd. Past the banquet table piled high with Chinese specialties, bowls of noodles, pyramids of steamed dumplings and more.

With each strike and parry the crowd grew more and more excited, no one noticed the small figure moving amongst them it reached the edge of the judge's platform. Creeping slowly around the garland covered stage. The crowd shouted out with surprise as Ton Ick dealt Xian Puu a mighty blow forcing her to her knees.

The women, who were meant to be guarding the prisoners, were watching the fight. Keeping low, Ranma knelt by the edge of the pit hidden by the judges.

Still gagged and bound Genma could not think who the girl peering down at him was. "Psst, Aver." The werewolf had been picking at the blood; not his own; under his fingernails and trying to remember if he had turned off his television before leaving home, when Ranma appeared. He recognized her and grinned.

"No yet, but if you're offering."

"What"

"Don't worry. Do you think you could come back later, me and your dad are just getting to know each other."

"Be quiet or do you want to stay down there till you're turned into a fur coat."

"Fair enough." Someone must have had a close call as the sound of the crowd rose behind them. While she could she took advantage of the noise and with grimaced teeth wrenched the heavy old time padlock holding the prisons grate down, nothing happened.

"I was joking about staying down here anytime you're ready." Ranma looked down she could see Aver's pale face looking up at her down in the pit. Suddenly the crowd broke out in waves of applause and cries of celebration.

Once again Ranma used the noise to her advantage and with a fast twist of her hand the lock broke, one the heavy iron grate was free she let down a rope she had lifted from an unknowing house. Slipping up the rope Aver reached the top quickly.

"What do you what to do with your Dad?" Aver pointed back down the hole.

"We can come back tonight and get him out."

"Are you sure he might not be there when we come back."

"I don't see how that's a problem."

"You still need him to find your Mother."

Ranma sighed. "You're right; we can keep our eye on him from hiding, and leave tonight."

The sound of the crowd was dying down as the two werewolves crept around the back of the crowd. Heads down they suddenly heard the crowd change from celebration to outrage.

The battle was fast and furious between the two Amazons, at times Ton Ick was pushing Xian Puu on the defense, but she would fight back and with a final cry Xian Puu brought her Bonbori down destroyed her opponent. The crowd chaired this winning move with screams and clapping.

The feeling of wining the final battle in the championship spread an effervesce through her blood and Xian Puu couldn't stop the smile that cracked her face and made her giddiness with happiness, she had done it. She could see her grandmother standing at the bottom of the log swing. Staring out over the crowd Xian Puu watched her fellow Amazon's celebrating her victory.

Still standing on the log swing she looked towards the banquet spread and prepared to make the announcement that would start the feast. Only to see a fat panda gorging it's self on her aunt Fuu's pork dumplings.

The crowd moved to make a path through to the banquet tables for Xian Puu, the panda had yet to notice that it was the focus of the crowd's ire. With a bloodthirsty scream the brand new Amazon champion rushed to make the rising red mist become a reality. Before she could bring her maces down on Genma's furry head they ground to a stop in midair.

Standing in front of her grinning wrapped in a red cloak was a girl holding her bonbori up in her crossed arms. "What are you doing, that fat pig is eating my feast." The girl just kept grinning with a look of complete ignorance.

"I am going to make that panda into a rug." Ranma sighed and spoke in Japanese "What did you say, I can't understand you." Xian Puu grinned showing her teeth,

"Ahh, you are Japanese. Fat Panda is yours. I said, I kill fat panda, make skin into rug."

"You know as tempting as that is I can't let you do that." Flipping backward Ranma flung the maces into the air and landed on her feet. Xian Puu pointed to the table,

"I am champion. That is my feast. I challenge you." Ranma brought a foot around in a side kick catching Xian Puu to the side of the head; sending her flying.

"Fine, but I gotta tell you I'm going to kick your arse." Xian Puu didn't reply merely jumping back onto the champions fighting platform. Ranma followed her perching opposite. The crowd now focused on this new challenger, Genma returned to stuffing his face.

Ranma spread her hands out in front of her, "While we're up here I hate to tell you, but the wolf' Ranma put a finger to her chin, in thought, 'I think you called him Fluffy. Well he's mine." With an enraged scream Xian Puu rushed Ranma swinging her maces in a deadly arch. Leaping lightly into the air, rising above the deadly force landing delicately on the outstretched weapon, she ran up the mace and Ranma once again kicked Xian Puu in the face flinging her to the ground and off the challenge platform.

Landing with hardly a hair out of place Ranma leapt lightly from the swinging log and leant down over the crumpled figure of surprise opponent.

"I win, you lose, you don't get the gut the panda. I think we all lose really." Ignoring the hand Ranma had offered Xian Puu rose to her feet. Standing now so close to Ranma that she could see the Amazon's hair ornaments shine in the mid day sun, Xian Puu grasped Ranma's face in her palms and in one swift movement kissed Ranma lightly on her cheek

From the back of the crowd some one let out a happy shout; this noise being quickly drowned out by the rising sound of the several hundred strong crowds of amazons. "Aver!" Ranma stared in shock at Xian Puu. Suddenly Ranma noticed that most of the crowds were heavily armed and none of them looked friendly. One Amazon Ranma felt confident but several hundred,

"Aver!" Ranma shouted again, where was that idiot. The crowd started moving towards Ranma bloodthirsty murder in their eyes.

"Aver!" Ranma started backing away from Xian Puu who had picked up her maces and was advancing on the retreating Ranma.

"Fire!" Smoke began to pour out from underneath the judge's platform. Completely changing the focus of the crowd's attention, Taking advantage of the distraction Ranma turned and fled.

It was only the work of a moment for the village elder to put the fire out themselves. Xian Puu was one of the first to reach the smoldering stage,

"Grandmother, what happened. . . " only to stop when Cologne interrupted her, by bopping her over the head with her walking stick.

"What are you doing girl, didn't you just give that girl the 'Kiss of Death'" Dashing across the crowded square Ranma was through the crowd before anyone noticed she had made a run for it heading towards the wildly waving Aver.

With a scream Xian Puu faced the running Ranma and took up the chase. Both werewolves turned from the crowd and ran for it. "Thanks for the distraction. But I could have taken care of her. She was just a girl" Ranma had recognized Aver's voice telling everyone about the fire.

"I thought all my Christmases had come at once there." Aver grinned at Ranma as they clambered over the village wall.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"She kissed you; usually it takes at least a first date." Dodging arrows as the reached the edge of the forest surrounding the Amazon village. Ranma scowled.

"Now she's trying to kill me, is this normal for girls?" Aver jumped up into the branches of forest.

"From my experience, yes." Ranma followed Aver up into the forest canopy; she called out after Aver who had taken the lead

"You wouldn't happen to know why I'm a girl would you," All she got in response was hysterical laughter. Behind them the Amazon warriors followed close on their heels.

On the other side of the village disappearing into the forest himself, Genma had used the distraction created by Ranma and Aver's escape. So focused was he on running away and chasing his son down, he did not notice the small figure following him close behind.

**_A/N_**

Over a year and no update, I bet you thought I was dead. Well you can stop celebrating. I am looking for another pre-reader for my Ranma 1/2 stories. If you are a wonderful person willing to give up some of your time and energy to read my erractic chapters I would be very grateful. If you could review or pm me if you want. Thank You.


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